I'm free
by DJMartini911
Summary: Several years after Naruto becomes Hokage, a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain gets forced out of his village and goes with Naruto's Daughter to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. But he's fears what may happen to the Village....
1. Chapter 1 New faces and training

Author's notes: This is my first fanfic and I've finally gotten around to getting a fanfiction account and putting this on it. Reviews are apperciated. There might be somethings that don't quite fit with the anime and/or manga, I apologize in advance because I may not know that. I'm working from what I know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (no matter how hard I wish) nor any of the characters, jutsus, or any of that sort of thing.

Very quick summary: This takes place several years after Naruto has become Hokage.

How's that for a quick summary?

Chapter 1 New faces, and Training

"Leta!" Leta jerked up. She had fallen asleep during class, again. "Leta," The teacher continued, "I know that you know all this already with your father being the Hokage, and teaching you out side of school, but can you please pay attention during class at least?"

"Yes… yes madam," She said. She put her hands in her lap and looked at them. Even though she was very talented at Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu, she had no self confidence. Leta was fourteen years old. Leta looked to her left and right; all the students were looking at her and snickering. She brushed her hair with her hand; it looked exactly like her mothers when she was her age. It was a dark blue, it was short expect for the hair right by her ears which came down to her shoulders. Her hand brushed against the whisker lines that where as visible on her father but instead of three lines she had two on each cheek. "I'm… I'm… really sorry, Sakura-sensei."

Sakura sighed and put her hand to her head, "You're just like your father sometimes," she looked up. She had the forehead protector on across her forehead, "That reminds me, the graduation exams are tomorrow," a lot of students cheered. Leta was not one of them, "But for now, school is over."

At that a lot of students ran out of the class room. Leta walked. Sakura watched Leta walk out. Leta wore a red shirt that cut off at the sleeves. It was like a kimono but it was just a top. It folded from the left side, and was held in place by a black pin. On her right shoulder was the symbol that her mother wore at her age. The symbol was a small cloud that trailed up like smoke. She wore dark blue pants, and her eyes had the pale color of the clan, but she had yet to be able to use Byakugan, the bloodline limit of her clan. It allowed the user to see almost three hundred and sixty degrees. Sakura knew there were often debates about her between the Hokage and her clan. Often the clan tried to disown her, but the Hokage said she could very well become much, much stronger. Leta was left unaware of these debates. But Sakura wondered if she knew.

She saw Leta's hand go to her right arm. There was something of a tattoo, it was a spiral. It had lines, about an inch long, radiating out from it. The Hokage had something like that on his stomach. It was a seal that had sealed Kyuubi in The Hokage way back when he and Sakura were together in squad seven. It was quite a surprise when Leta was born. The seal was on her at birth. Although Kyuubi had long ago dispersed in Naruto's chakra, some wondered if Kyuubi had simply gone into Leta.

Sakura sighed as Leta walked out of the class room. She almost wished Leta had Naruto's personality. She hoped she would pass the exams with top marks. She probably will tomorrow, Leta performed well when not under pressure, but of course there was probably much pressure for her to perform well.

Leta walked out of the classroom holding her arm, she traced the marks of the seal. She was worrying that she would fail tomorrow. She walked down the market street hearing sellers say, 'Look there's the Hokage's daughter!' or, 'She's the honorable daughter of the Hokage.' never even saying her name.

It was too long a walk home. When she got there, there were three strange ninja talking to her father, one of them was a Kunochi. She had short, fiery-red hair. She wore a skirt but you could see shorts that she wore under them. Both the skirt and shorts were a dark color that reminded her of storm cloud, and she wore a short sleeved shirt of the same color. The shinobi on the right had brown hair, and wore pants, and a shirt, that made Leta think of rain. The Shinobi in the center had white short hair that stuck up. He wore a long sleeved shirt that was a dark almost black red color, he wore a vest over it, that was a dark almost blue and his pants were the same color. Instead of the normal sandals he wore a pair of black boots.

When her father saw her he waved to her. The strange ninja turned towards her. The shinobi wore there head bands on their foreheads, while the Kunochi wore hers around her neck. All of them were of the village hidden in the rain. She moved slower. As she neared, she said, "Hello, father."

The Hokage said, "This is my daughter, Leta."

The Kunochi, said bowing, "Honorable daughter of the Hokage, I am Emiko Soere." She had brown eyes, she was probably seventeen.

The shinobi with the brown hair said bowing as well, "Honorable daughter of the Hokage, I am Yukio Soere," he also had brown eyes, he was probably sixteen.

The other shinobi said, "Leta, I am Zev Alcido." Leta noticed he had blue eyes. The other two ninja from the Village hidden in the rain elbowed him, and gave him a hard stare. Leta guessed he was the squad leader, and he was also about sixteen.

Leta smiled, the Hokage raised an eyebrow _that's unusual_ he thought.

Leta looking at her hands said, "Are… are you staying for a while... Zev?"

Naruto answered for Zev, "They're staying for at least a month," He looked at the Shinobi, "Why don't you stay here for the time?"

Emiko said, "Oh no, we couldn't but we'd like to," she turned away.

Naruto looked to the sky, and put his hand to his chin in a mock thinking pose, "Well, I can't cover room and board for you while you're here. I can't imagine what the cost for staying at an inn would be for a month, believe it!"

Emiko turned around like she'd been stung, "Well, on second thought maybe we can stay if were not too much trouble."

Naruto answered, "You won't be, believe it!" Naruto thought, _maybe this will be good for Leta, but still I'm not happy about three ninja from another village coming here this early_.

The house was a multi-level house. The kitchen was to the right of the entry way and there was a main room to the left. There were several rooms on the upstairs, and there was a back door beyond the stairs.

Walking into the House, Leta was still smiling. It had taken her by surprise that someone called her by her name instead of 'honorable daughter of the hokage'. She was happy though. She walked into the kitchen where her mother was washing the dishes. "Mother, I'm home!" her mother turned. She looked very different from when she was Leta's age, then Hinata was just as shy as Leta was, since then she'd come more out of her shell.

Leta heard Yukio give a shout and then heard a pail dropping and hitting the floor. She also heard her father giving apologizes to Yukio saying that was intended for someone else, "He never really did grow out of being a prankster. Normally he doesn't do that, but sometimes has a lapse…," Hinata finished with a sigh. She wore her dark blue hair in a bun, and was wearing a shirt that had the symbol she wore way back then. "By the way Leta, how was school?"

"It… it was fine, just stuff I already knew."

"Thanks to your father, right?"

Leta nodded and sat down, "The exams are tomorrow," she said.

Her mother set down a cleaned dish, "Really? Do you think your going to pass?"

Leta sat there for a while, "I don't know… I hope so."

"I'm sure you will," her mother said, but Leta still doubted herself.

An hour later Naruto came down the stairs, "Leta, let's do some cloning practice." Leta followed her father out the back door. There was a training space that her father had put in, soon after becoming Hokage. The previous Hokage was killed by Orochimaru. Naruto was chosen as the successor. Not like he left them any choice. Using the Shadow Clones, he beat all the other options badly. Leta hadn't been born yet at that time, but her mother and father told her many times about it.

In the back, she saw Zev sitting in a tree eating an apple. Emiko was sitting, relaxing she was just staring at the sky. Her Father turned and performed _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. One of the Clones told her to try. She noticed that Zev was watching now. She made the Hand signs. Summoned her chakra and once again failed miserably. Her father's clones disappeared and the real one ordered her to try again. She made the hand signs. Summoned up her chakra and… failed miserably. She just couldn't do it.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Leta looked at the surprising source, Zev, "It's all in your head," Zev tapped his head with the apple.

Naruto looked up and said, "It's more difficult than it looks."

Zev jumped down from the tree and said, "Let's make a bet. If I get this right, I train Leta for a half hour. If I get it wrong, I take your whole family out for ramen."

Naruto gave a shrug and said, "Fine, it's a bet. You're going to lose, believe it!"

She looked at Zev, he threw the apple into the air. He made the hand signs. Summoned up his Chakra, and he made four perfect clones. The apple fell down into the hand of the clone on the right, who took a bite and then tossed it to another who took a bite. The original Zev said, "See? All in your head," tapping his temple.

Naruto was surprised, but it didn't show. Leta on the other hand was open mouthed. Emiko just laughed. Zev said, "Well Leta, it looks like for next half hour, I own you," he undid _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, "Follow me," he took off and Leta reluctantly followed. Naruto started to tell her to wait, but Emiko started talking to him before he could say anything.

"Don't worry about them," she said, "She's in good hands, Zev's one of the top ninja in our village. I would be surprised if you could beat him without breaking a sweat," Naruto looked towards where they went, he still was not happy about this.

Zev stopped in the middle of the nearby forest. He turned to look at Leta, she was breathing hard, "Was keeping up with me difficult?" he asked. Leta just nodded. Zev sighed, "I guess we'll just start with one clone for now," Leta looked up. Zev made some hand signs with one hand. One clone appeared next to him.

"Wait," Leta gasped trying to catch her breath, "You could always make shadow clones?"

The clone shook his head and said, "No, I'm a cloud clone."

The real Zev threw a back hand into the stomach of the clone which just passed through, Leta caught a glimpse of the cloud that made the clone, "Blows can pass right through it."

"But then how's it different from a regular clone?"

Zev again threw a back hand at the clone, but this time the clone caught it, "This kind of clone can make it self solid as well. Also it can perform some jutsu"

The clone said, "Ready?" and assumed a fighting stance.

Before Leta could answer, he charged her. Zev went behind her. Before she knew it, she had to block a furry of attacks from the clone. It was very difficult to keep up. Right hook, left jab, uppercut, the blows were lightning fast. Almost as fast as when she saw Rock Lee fighting. The fight was pointless, but watching the fight was amazing.

She saw movement to her side, but she kept focus on the clone. She immediately wished she hadn't. Zev punched her and she went down. It wasn't a hard blow though it threw her off balance. Both Zev's said in unison, "That's actually not bad. Most people can't block that many of my punches," Leta stood up, though she was breathing hard. That short amount of work had exhausted her.

The real Zev frowned for a moment looking at her. He cupped his hands together. He yelled and lighting came out of his hands, when he opened them he had a small blue ball in his palm not much bigger than a pea. He walked over to Leta and held her hand. He put the ball in her hand and said, "Here eat this. It will taste awful but it will give you a lot more energy."

Leta looked at it and said, "What is it?"

"It's a portion of my chakra energy made solid."

Leta popped it into her mouth, and immediately gagged, but felt much more energized.

She looked up and saw the clone charging her again. His blows were just as quick. She kept blocking them. She saw Zev come in again from the side. This time, she ducked and Zev went right over her. He smiled. She immediately became worried, and then the clone kicked her in the stomach. Again not a hard blow, it was one just hard enough to knock her off balance.

Zev said, "Don't forget about the one you're fighting to begin with."

Again the Clone charged her. Its blows were still just as fast, and she was still able to block them. Again Zev came in from the side. This time she grabbed the clone and threw the clone into Zev's path before he could get to her and he punched the clone instead. Both the Zev and the clone smiled. Leta grew worried and looked around.

"Don't worry. I won't attack you right now," the clone made another cloud clone, by splitting himself. Zev made hand signs again and made two more clones, "These clones," he said pointing at the new ones he made, "are mist clones. They are like regular clones but they don't go away when hit, actually you can't hit them," he moved his hand through the mist clone and it just passed through, "Ready?"

The Cloud Clone charged again. This time Leta had trouble blocking the blows. She saw him come at her again. She threw the cloud clone at him but the clone passed through. She stopped for a moment. Then she felt Zev put a hand over her eyes. "You know the enemy won't always use the same attack pattern some times they'll throw decoys in too."

He took his hand off her eyes and walked back a ways. Then he turned around and assumed a fighting stance. Leta heard movement behind her. She moved to start blocking the blows. But they were still the same speed and her speed was much slower. In fact, almost every punch hit her. She saw movement to the side. She threw the cloud clone again. This time she continued spinning and caught another clone punch. The process started over again. Leta tried to see everything around her. She focused with out realizing it. She didn't notice the veins beginning to pop out right next to her eyes. She unleashed Byakugan. She blocked Zev's blows and she threw the mist clone into Zev, and took out the other clone herself leaving the mist clones alone.

All the Zev's smiled and disappeared. She looked around and saw him standing in a tree. He was clapping. "Good job," he said. She noticed that unlike the clone that she thought was him, he gave off a bright blue glow that seemed to jump around out side his body. There was also something else some red chakra; it looked like it was a fire. Zev jumped down from the tree and said, "But now, I'm going to fight much harder," he made some hands signs with both hand signs. Then he said, "_Taustsujin no juts_u," he created twelve clones, "There are six cloud clones, six mist clones, and…," He made hands signs that were recognizable to her; they were the hand signs of the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, "six shadow clones," so there was eighteen clones plus Zev.

Zev made another of the small chakra balls. He offered it to Leta. She took it even though she didn't want it. She popped it in her mouth and she gagged again, but she felt energized like before. She saw a clone move in behind her. She turned and blocked his punch. She saw another movement behind her, but through her Byakugan she knew it was a mist clone and ignored it. She saw an opening for an attack on the cloud clone that she was fighting. She threw a punch but it went right through. The clone threw a punch of its own and it connected.

She heard Zev say, "I said I was going to fight much harder." Leta got up and continued blocking blows from both shadow and cloud clones, while ignoring the mist clones. She was able to keep up with the blows, thanks to the chakra ball, but using the Byakugan was draining her chakra. Although, she rather prefer that, compared to getting hit.

One of the Zev's looked up. The shadow clones did the same. All the clones disappeared, and Leta fell on her knees. She was exhausted. Zev turned and looked at her, "Come on, it's time to go back," he stood there for a second, "Do you need me to carry you?" he asked laughing. Leta shook her head no, and stood up. She promptly wished she didn't. She fell right on her knees again. She felt very light headed.

"I shouldn't be feeling like this," Leta said trying to stand again.

Zev grabbed her and helped her up, "It's the chakra balls," he said while helping her, "When you take them, sometimes there are a few side effects. It's because of the difference of our chakras."

Leta was about to say something but then she passed out. Zev thought, _Maybe I shouldn't have given her two, _he picked her up and took off back the Hokage's house.


	2. Chapter 2 A new Kekkei Genkai

Author's Note: Please give me some reviews. I'd like to know what you think is good and what needs improving.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't.

Chapter 2 A New Kekkei Genkai

When he arrived Leta was still unconscious. It had started raining. Zev knocked on the door. Naruto answered the door. He saw Leta, grabbed her, and ran inside with her. He locked Zev out. Zev sighed and got in through the back. Naruto laid her on her bed.

"She did very well," Zev said behind Naruto. Naruto turned and gave him an angry glare, "Oh don't worry about her. She'll be up any minute now."

Almost as if on cue Leta sat up, "Father," Naruto turned to her with evident concern, "I used Byakugan."

Naruto smiled, then he turned toward Zev and he lost his smile. He stood up and walked out the door, "You and I are going to have a talk"

Zev followed him out into the kitchen, and found Hinata wasn't there any more. "I have to admit I'm surprised." he started.

"I am too," Naruto said spinning around, "what the hell did you do!"

"I trained her I got her to use her Byakugan."

"And you pushed her too hard, she was unconscious!"

"That's a side effect, her chakra and mine aren't as similar as I thought."

Naruto gave a puzzled look. Then suddenly someone pounded on the door. Naruto opened it. Zev looked at the ninja outside. He was drenched from the rain and breathing hard. "Hokage, some ninja are fighting in the main square. They're not from around here."

Zev asked, "Where's Emiko and Yukio?" Naruto looked at Zev. He didn't know, "They better not of gotten into trouble." Zev said starting out the door.

When Zev, Naruto, and the Joinin arrived at the square it was still raining. There were two young people, about Leta or Zev's age. They were behind Emiko and Yukio really beaten up. They were looking at three ninja from the village hidden in stone. One of them had a small wet spot on his shirt.

"What's going on here?" Naruto shouted, "Explain yourselves!"

The first young person said, "We were getting something to eat, and I accidentally bumped his bowl of soup which spilled on him. They started beating us, and these two ninja came and saved us."

The stone ninja said, "He ruined by dinner, he provoked me."

"You're just a big idiot who gets his kicks out of beating people who are weaker than yourself." Emiko said.

"Why I ought to…"

Zev interrupted him, "It's obvious who's at fault here." he looked at the stone ninja. "Pay your bill and get out of my sight, but if your still looking for a fight…" Zev raised his hands, "I'll take all three of you."

Emiko and Yukio were laughing. The stone ninja, which Zev assumed was the team leader, was also laughing, "Okay tough guy let's go."

Before he took a step there was a bright flash of light, when the blinding flash disappeared, Zev had punched the ninja. Naruto hadn't seen Zev move. There was also a loud thunderclap. Again there was another flash of light, when it cleared Zev had kicked the ninja up into the air. Again, following the flash was a thunderclap. Another flash of light and Zev had kicked him in the air and sent him into the ground. Zev hit the ground just as yet another thunderclap went off. Zev looked at the other two ninja, "You two want to go?" one of them gave a nervous chuckle, and the other grabbed their friend and they ran without a word.

Emiko asked Zev, "What would you have done if the other two did want to fight?"

"Wipe the floor with them," was Zev's confident response

"Even though you wouldn't have been able to use _Relatzer no Jutsu_?"

"Yea, they're weak enough. I probably didn't even need it in the first place."

"_Relatzer no Jutsu_? I have no idea what that is, believe it," Naruto asked.

"It's those bright flashes of light, and the thunder. The user moves like lightning." Zev said, "the real masters of it can use it consecutively ten times," he stopped and stared at the ground, "like my father," he muttered.

"Can anyone learn it?"

"No," Zev said shaking his head, "It's one of many kekkei genki that my clan can learn."

He didn't know exactly why but Naruto did not feel happy about that.

Leta was conscious when Naruto, Zev, and the rest of them got back. She was excitedly telling her mother about being able to use the Byakugan. Her mother was almost just as excited. They both stopped and looked at them when they arrived. Naruto walked in the main room and sat next to Hinata.

Yukio was following him, when Zev saw that he mark on his arm, "Emiko," Zev said, "Would you take a look at Yukio's arm?"

Emiko nodded and she took Yukio into another room. Zev was about to sit down next to Leta when suddenly Yukio started screaming. He ran to where Yukio and Emiko were. He could see Yukio's upper arm was broken. The arm was bent at a weird angle and the bone had pierced the skin.

Emiko did Yukio a favor and knocked him out before resetting the bone. Since Emiko was a ninja doctor, and she knew what she was doing, Zev went back to the main room. He could see Leta was concerned, "He'll be fine." Zev said, "It's just a compound fracture he won't be able to fight for a while but, it will heal."

A few minutes later Emiko walked in the room wiping her hands on an old rag she carried, "He'll be fine," she said, "It's a little more complex than I had thought, a few of his ribs seem to have fractures in them too," she paused for a moment, "it will heal but it will be a while before I'll let him get out of bed."

Naruto asked, "You both introduced yourselves as Soere. Are you two related?"

"Yes," Emiko said, "We're brother and sister."

Naruto turned to Zev, "And you are a squad leader?"

Zev shifted uncomfortably then said, "Yes," then he mumbled, "For the moment."

Leta was the only one who heard him mumble, she meant to ask him why he said that. She was about to then Emiko spoke, "Zev, it's getting late are you going to sleep?"

Zev shook his head, "No," he said, "I think I'm going to watch the lighting."

Hinata said, "But it hasn't-" when she was cut of by a bright flash of lightning.

Zev walked out the back door and into the rain. Naruto said, "I'm going to bed, it is fairly late. Believe…," he yawned, "it…." Hinata followed him up the stairs. Emiko sat down were Hinata had been sitting

Leta mumbled to Emiko staring at her hands, "Zev said he was the squad leader for the moment what did he mean?"

Emiko looked at Leta, "What was that? I didn't hear you." Leta said it again this time a little louder. She kept looking at her hands though. Emiko explained, "It's his clan's, I guess you can call it a curse. Each clan member has two levels, one is the level how thickly the kekkei genkai runs through their veins, the other, is the level of how much they can use," she stopped for a second thinking, "Usually the clan member's kekkei genkai won't reach that level. But when it does, the clan member goes insane and has to be killed."

Leta asked, "What does that have to do with Zev?"

"His blood is so thick with the kekkei genkai it's actually a different color. Also at the same time his second level is one of the lowest ever seen. He'll go insane and have to be killed if he exceeds his limit. There have been debates in his clan to kill him now, before he can do more harm. There are a lot of complications in that, I don't know what though. His brother is the one leading the votes to kill him."

Leta continued looking at her hands, "My clan is trying to disown me… they say that I'm too weak."

Emiko gave a small chuckle, "You and Zev aren't so different, and yet, at the same time, exact opposites."

Leta asked, "Why did you ask Zev if he was going to sleep?"

"He can't sleep, unless he discharges a lot of his energy. It's one of the things that separate him from his clan." Emiko stood up, "Speaking of sleep, I probably should get some rest," she yawned and went upstairs.

Leta followed, but before going into her room she looked out side and saw Zev out in the tree. She watched him for a moment. _He seems so sad,_ she thought, _he didn't seem that way today, _she closed the door to her room, and collapsed on her bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.


	3. Chapter 3 Graduation Day

Author's notes: Usual stuff. Review please that sort of thing. I think I can classify this as a major part of my life now because more than once while writing this I forgot to eat supper.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto but I don't….

Chapter 3 Graduation Day

The next morning, Leta woke to Emiko's yelling, "Don't you dare get out of bed!" she yelled.

"I'm fine!" Yukio shouted back, "I can get up-" suddenly Yukio started screaming.

"You," Leta heard Sashii swear quite a bit before finishing, "idiot! Now I have to reset your arm."

Leta heard a loud thunk she guessed Emiko had knocked Yukio out. Leta figured she should get up, and fell back down in bed,_ five more minutes wouldn't hurt._

Ten minutes later, Hinata came up to Leta's room. "Leta, you have to get up."

"I'm coming, mother," Leta got up and got dressed she wore a shirt like the one she wore yesterday, but this one was blue.

When she came out of the room, she looked out and saw Zev in the tree. _Was he out there all night? _she thought,_ He's soaking wet,_ Zev jumped down from the tree. When he landed he made some hand signs. He then raised one hand and he brought it to the ground. Lightning came down, and Leta had to shield her eyes from it. When the lightning had disappeared it looked like it struck Zev, but he was perfectly fine. She noticed that he was dry now.

Leta went downstairs into the kitchen. Hinata had laid out a breakfast for everyone. Emiko was walking out of the kitchen with a plate. Leta assumed it was for Yukio. Leta sat down and began eating.

A few minutes later Zev walked in with a small bag in his hand. "Is Emiko still here?" He asked.

Leta was about to say something, then her mother spoke, "I think she took some food to Yukio," Zev nodded and went to Yukio's room.

Hinata looked at Leta, "Leta, you better get going. School will be starting soon. Leta rushed out the door, as Zev was coming back in. When Leta left Hinata looked at Zev, "Zev, Leta's to shy to talk about it. But her and me teacher are good friends, she told me that some students have been picking on Leta. Would you follow her and keep an eye of her?"  
"Well you and your husband were kind enough to let us stay here, so I suppose it's the least I could do."

"By the way, try to stay out of sight. Naruto will be there, as today is graduation day, and well, he doesn't trust you."

"I knew that already," Zev said as he went out the door.

_He already knew that? _Hinata thought_, I wonder how._

Zev followed Leta, being careful that she couldn't see him. Zev could see the school down the road. They were about half way there. Five young men about Zev's age stepped out of the shadows along the walls and surrounded Leta. They wore the Kohona forehead protectors.

"Please, I don't have time for this," Leta said. Zev could hear fear in her voice.

The ninja were laughing. One of them which Zev assumed was the leader of the group said, "Well, give us some money and we'll be on our way."

"I don't have any," Leta said she seemed even more scared.  
"Then I suppose we're going to have to give you a good beating," some of the ninja took out various weapons. None of them were for killing just Staves, and other weapons used for beating. They charged her. Leta used her Byakugan and started fighting back. Apparently, Leta had never fought back before this. A few ran as soon as she fought back. Leta saw an opening and attacked. She sent out a small yet potent burst of chakra into the stomach of the ninja. There was a burst of lightning, and the ninja Leta attacked went flying across the street.

Leta looked at her hand and saw that the lightning had come from her. She looked up and the other ninja had run away. "Did I just…," Leta started. She heard the school bells ringing and ran toward school. Zev stood there dumfounded for a moment, _Did she just do Saceno no jutsu? That's impossible, that's one of my clan's kekkei genkai! _Zev started off to watch Leta.

Zev took extra caution not to be noticed. He watched Leta walk into the classroom. He noticed that every student who looked at her snickered, even a few kids threw paper balls at her. Zev got angrier every second of watching the other kids picking on her. He was a little confused, he had never felt a reaction to something like this before, and he'd seen people do this sort of thing before.  
Zev took a breath and separated himself from the scene. He'd learned how to remove himself emotionally a long time ago. Zev waited a while watching the other students get called into the examination room. It seemed like an eternity before Leta was called.

Zev followed outside the building. When she got to the examination room, Zev could see her hands were shaking. Zev couldn't hear anything but he could tell she was scared that she couldn't do it. Zev made a quick flash of light and Leta looked at him. He tapped his head and mouthed, "All in your head."

Leta nodded, and made the hand signs for _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, and she did it flawlessly. Leta smiled as she was handed a forehead protector. Zev smiled as well, and he figured she'd be alright.

Zev waited out front in a tree with a swing on it. The students came out after a long wait. He noticed that the ones who made fun of Leta the most were the ones that had failed. When Leta came out, Zev noticed she was looking around. Zev moved down into the lower branches. When Leta saw him, she smiled, and ran over.

When she got to the base of the tree, she looked up and said, "I didn't feel like I was going to be able to pass. Then when you were there, I felt stronger like I could do it. So, thanks for believing in me."  
Zev was about to say something when he saw Leta's father, "Your father is looking for you. I better go, he doesn't trust me."

"How do you know that?"

"He gives me the same feeling that my clan gives me," then he disappeared.

"Leta!" her father called, "Come here," Leta turned and went to her father. "Leta, let me start by saying I am proud of you," Leta was about to say something, but her father held up his hand, "But things are only going to get tougher from now on. I am willing to let you stay in the academy a few more years if you want or you can pursue some other goal."

Leta looked at her feet. _Does he think I can't cut it as a ninja,_ she thought, _He doesn't believe in me at all, does he?_

"I'll give you a few days, to think about it," he said and walked off.

Leta felt like crying.

After Zev left Leta at the Academy he went back to the Hokage's house. When he walked in the door, Hinata was waiting, "Well, what happened to Leta?"

"Well, first thing I noticed was that on her way to school she was threatened by a group of - I'm guessing genin - probably ones who couldn't truly make the cut as ninja. She fought back and I think she used a kekkei genkai," he did not mention that the kekkei genkai was one from his clan, "At school she was picked on by almost every student. And the ones that didn't didn't pay attention to her at all. The good news is, she passed her exam she's a full ninja now."  
Hinata smiled a very weak smile, "That's good" She said. After she said that her smile vanished. Zev felt his rage coming back up after think of the way the other students had treated Leta. Hinata looked at Zev, "Are you alright? Your eyes, they're yellow."

"Huh?" Zev gave a puzzled look, "Oh, right," he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes returned to normal blue. "That's part of my kekkei genkai, no one else has it though. It happens when I'm angry."

Hinata asked, "Why are you angry?"

Zev shrugged, "To tell the truth, I don't myself. I got angry from watching the students making fun of Leta. I don't know why it made me so angry." He paused, "By the way, where's Emiko?"

"I'm right here," Emiko said from right behind him.

Zev turned, "You really have a knack for appearing and disappearing. I should probably get some sleep since I didn't get any last night," Zev cupped his hand and yelled. Lightning shot out of his hands. When he opened up his hands there were ten blue balls. He handed them to Emiko, and went up to his temporary room. He noticed it was right next to the Hokage's room. He lay down on his bed, and felt fatigue claim him.

When he awoke he heard the Hokage yelling, "What! What do you mean she hasn't returned?" Zev went down stairs and found the Hokage pacing the main room. Hinata looked worried, and Emiko was standing there, also looking worried.

Zev put two and two together, and figured Leta was missing. Zev went back up to his room and found his bag. He dug around until he found a leather glove and a set of black senbon. He wrapped the senbon around his right ankle. He went out the back door, and went off in search of Leta

It took Zev longer than he'd had hoped. He found her sitting right in front of the eye of the Third Hokage's face. He hopped down and sat next to her. He noticed she was crying. He realized that you couldn't be seen from anywhere except right above.

Zev sighed and sat there for a while, "What's wrong?" he asked after a while.

"My father," Leta started, "He… he… he doesn't believe in me."

"What makes you say that?" He asked.  
"Back at the academy… he said he was willing to let me stay at the academy for another year."

Zev looked up, "Maybe he's worried about you. To be totally honest, you don't exactly seem like the type to go rushing into battle and killing." Leta burst into a sob, "Of course, you could be a medical ninja, saving lives. But that's not the point I'm trying to make…"

"Then… what is your point?"

"My point is whatever path you chose, you don't need your father to believe in you. You have to believe in you," Zev smiled at her. She still was crying. Zev put an arm around her, "Its okay if you cry. Trust me, I cried like a baby when I found out my father was thinking of killing me."

Leta stopped crying, "Really?" she asked.

Zev said, "No…. Actually, I went and broke one of his most expensive vases, and blamed it on my brother. He believed me," Leta laughed, "See that's much better," Zev said smiling, "You really should smile more often." Leta, still smiling, blushed.

Zev stood up and held out his hand, "Now, what do you say we head back down?"

Leta took his hand and stood up, "Okay," and she started climbing up the face of the rock.

"Wait," Zev said, "I have a better idea."

Leta came back down, "What?"

"Climb onto my back real quick," Leta had a puzzled look on her face, but she complied. "Hold on," Zev said. Suddenly everything was white for a second, and Leta had to close her eyes.

When she opened them she felt dizzy and disorientated. She heard a booming sound like thunder. She laughed and tried to stand on her own. She almost fell over, but Zev caught her, "Maybe I should have done three small jumps instead of one long one," He said aloud. As soon as she was able to stand on her on, they started back home.

When they got back The Hokage was still pacing the floor. Zev noticed Hinata was gone, and Emiko looked more annoyed than worried. Zev made sure to close the door behind extra loud. When the Hokage looked up he ran over to Leta and hugged her, "Leta, I was so worried about you."

_Apparently not worried enough to go look for her, _Zev thought, _Maybe I'm being a little harsh on him. I would be practically insane if my daughter went missing. _Zev paused as he realized how true that would be.

"Thank you, for finding her," The Hokage said to Zev.

Zev shrugged, "I'm pretty sure she would have come back eventually."

"By the way, father," The Hokage looked back at Leta, "I've decided… not to take you up on your offer, I want to become a ninja."

Zev smiled and nodded. Leta's father didn't notice Zev because his back was turned. But he smiled too. He put a hand on Leta's shoulder "I'm glad, believe it," was all he said. Still, he had never seen Leta smiling like that before.


	4. Chapter 4 Returning Home and to Hell

Author's notes: Nothing that I haven't said before. 

Disclaimer: insert usual musings of me wish to own Naruto here.

Chapter 4 Returning home and to Hell

It seemed too short, but soon a month had passed. The Hokage, Hinata, and Leta all showed up at the gate to the village to see off Zev, Emiko, and Yukio, "I'm sorry you weren't able to participate this year," Naruto said to all of them.

"We are too, but at least we'll be able to visit again," Emiko said.

Yukio looked at Zev, he was holding his side were there were still bandages, "Sorry, for causing us to miss it."

Zev shrugged, he didn't really care. Leta spoke up, "Um… What was it you- um…." She was looking at her feet.

"Came here for?" Zev finished for her, "We came for the chuunin exams. We missed it because of Yukio's injury. I didn't want it to get any worse while we were doing it."

"Passing with flying colors is more like it," Emiko said quietly that almost no one could hear it, but Zev did.

Zev said, "We better get going," he turned away.

Hinata nudged Leta, "Um… Zev…," Zev turned back to look at Leta. Leta held out a box, "This is for you," she said, "There's food enough for all of you, and some medicine."

Zev took it and said, "Thanks, Leta," he turned and walked away he waved good-bye and continued walking. He looked back only once. After a ways of walking, He reached into the box and pulled out a rice ball. He took a bite, "Wow, this is really good."

It took almost a week to get back to the village in the rain. They knew they were near when it started raining every hour. Emiko sighed, "I hate it here compared to Kohona, its way too depressing." Yukio nodded.

Zev said smiling, "Really? I like the rain."

Yukio looked at him, "Are you insane?"

Zev stopped smiling. Emiko punched Yukio, hard, "Idiot!" she said loud enough so only Yukio could hear.

They continued walking eventually it became difficult to see a few feet ahead because of the rain. Zev eventually found a cave, "Let's camp in here for the night," Zev said. Then he thought, _Or at least until this downpour slows downs, it's sometimes hard to figure out what time it is._

Emiko and Yukio went into the cave first. When Zev came in he shook his head, and the water from his hair went flying. Emiko and Yukio put up their hands. They were used to Zev doing this. Emiko sighed and started trying to get a fire going with some flint and her Kunai. Zev put his hand over the wood, he closed his eyes, and lightning came out of his hand and it started a fire. Emiko mumbled thanks, and scooted close to the fire. Yukio sat close enough to the fire that Zev was a little concerned that he might burn himself.

Zev walked to the back of the cave, where he found an old torn up pack. "Hey, I found something," he walked back closer to the fire and showed them the pack, "Look familiar?"

Emiko said, "Yea it's my old medicine pack. Where did you find it?"

"This is the same cave that we stayed in when we were finished the assassination mission, last fall. While we were running your bag was hit with a**Shuriken Shuriken Shuriken Shuriken** shuriken. When we got back to the cave, you got made because you lost all your medicine, and you threw this in the back."

"So that means we'll be home tomorrow, right?" Yukio said.

"Assuming we don't get lost like last time," Emiko said glaring at Yukio.

Yukio threw up his hands, "Hey, you didn't have to listen to me!"

Zev laughed as Emiko started yelling at Yukio, and Yukio ran off towards the back of the cave. Zev looked out the cave entrance, and sighed, _Only one more day until I'm back in my hell._

The next day, Zev and his squad left the cave and made it to the village up higher in the mountain. It wasn't the actual village rather it was a second smaller village, founded by his clan. Zev banged on the gate, "Let us in!" he shouted.

The answer on the other side surprised him, "What's the password?"

"Password? What on earth are you talking about?"

"What's the password?"

Zev looked at Emiko, and then he looked atYukio. They both wore the same puzzled look, "We don't know of any password."

"Then I can't let you in."

Zev sighed and looked at Emiko, "Should I break down the door?"

Yukio shouted, "Yes! I want out of the rain."

Emiko said, "No! There's already tension to kill you, we don't need to add fuel to the fire."

Zev sat on a rock next to the gate and said, "Then we wait."

"Wait for what?" Yukio asked.

"Wow," Emiko said, "You've already forgotten?"

"Forgot what?"

"Just wait," was Zev's response.

An hour later of waiting, "Okay, I'm dying of boredom here, break the damn door."

Zev said very calmly, "Any minute now."

"That's what you said an hour ago."

"No, an hour ago I said wait," There was a faint rumbling noise, "And here it comes," Suddenly the gate lifted up and water came shooting out. "Now!" Zev said. Emiko and Yukio rushed in.

Emiko turned around she saw the gate closing, "I don't think he's going to make it," Just as it was about to close, Zev rolled underneath the gate with only inches to spare. "Never mind."

Zev looked at Yukio, "Now do you remember?"

"Yea, they were planning on fixing up some of the major buildings, but to do that," He paused as they stepped out of the tunnel they were in, and into a town square that the house went up the walls of the mountain. There was an opening at the top of the mountain, "They were going to have to reroute water so that every hour, the water would have to be let out of the main gate."

"Now are you glad I didn't break down the door?"

"No," was his flat response.

"Fine then," Emiko said, "Are you glad you don't have to pay for the repairs to the gate?"

"Oh right…. Didn't think of it that way."

Zev turned, "Okay, I have to go back to my father. I'll meet up with you later," He then disappeared with a flash of light, and a loud thunderclap. He was at the front door of his clan's headmaster's home. He sighed, as he opened the door. He walked in and he saw his brother talking with his father and laughing. His brother looked exactly like Zev except he had red hair and his eyes were a blood red. _Yea, _he thought, _That makes perfect sense. I'm the one with normal looking eyes, and I'm the one who every one considers a freak. Of course his eyes don't change color, but still I'd rather have weird eyes a part of the time rather than his._

When he got close enough that his father noticed he nudged Zev's brother. His brother turned and said, "How did you get in? You don't know the password!"

"I'm a ninja, Lobo. I only need to watch and wait until the enemy lowers the gate," Zev could hear his brother swear quite the string of curses under his breath.

Zev's father put a hand on Lobo's shoulder, "Very good, Zev. The only reason why I supported that change was to prove to your brother that, that wouldn't keep you out," Zev could hear in his voice and see it in his eyes. He was lying, "By the way, Zev, Semiko's father decided that she shouldn't marry you."

Zev caught him, "Semiko's father has been dead for years, father, I think your just trying to get me to believe that someone else made the decision for her, when, in fact, she chose it for her self. Seriously though, I've caught you in lies before, but nothing that bad…."

"Told you we wouldn't buy it," Zev heard a woman's voice behind him.

Zev said without turning, "So, Semiko, you made this decision for your self?" Semiko had blond hair; she was shorter than Zev but not that much. Since more often than not she wore heels she appeared to be the same height.

"Yes, I'd rather marry Lobo."

Zev shrugged, "Fine with me," although you could see it in his eyes, he was happy about this turn of events. He turned and started out the door.

"Wait," Lobo said as he grabbed Zev's arm "Are you sure you want a prize like her to go away?"

Zev grabbed Lobo's arm and threw him into the ground. He kept him pinned by twisting his arm. "Are you trying to piss me off?" he started, "You don't seem to get it do you? It's her choice, if it wasn't I'd be upset," then he corrected himself mentally, _Actually I wouldn't care either way,_ he continued, "Also, I don't think of her as a prize. People aren't trophies."

His brother laughed, "You think you can lecture me? You? The weakling who can't even use his full potential because you fear the chance you might go insane," he laughed again, "I'm a one man army I never need anyone else."

"No one wants to be with you. The reason why you can say you're a one man army is because no one is willing to go on a mission with you, so you have to do it on your own. It's a death sentence. You abandon you team as soon as trouble comes. And they die, while you get away."

"Zev!" his father shouted, "Get off of him, he's been to hell and back, and what have you done? Show some respect."

Zev got up, "Yea, he's been to hell and back, by selling his soul," Zev walked towards the door. He opened it and stepped outside. When he slammed it shut it came off its hinges, "Whoops, did I do that?" he said in a mocking tone.

He went down to the town square, which really was a circle. He sat on a bench rain, came down the center of the village. Only the houses on the sides of the village were not rained on. Zev sat here often after having fights with everyone.

He felt the rain fall on his head. It felt good. Of course everyone else hated it. Zev looked up he could see the opening at the top of the mountain. It felt like he was in a pit. Zev lifted up his fist and made a rude gesture.

"Mad?" Zev heard Emiko asked.

"When am I not here?" Zev said he let his hand fall but he kept looking up.

"Let me see your eyes." Emiko said. Zev looked at her his eyes were their regular blue. She laughed, "Apparently you're not that angry."

"Who are we talking about here? Zev… not angry? Here? Impossible." Yukio said. Zev reached under his forehead protect and pulled out a star. He threw the star at him missing by an inch.

"Will you go get that?" Zev asked missing. He went and got it. He was scared because Zev had done much worse, in one of his bad moods.

"What happened that's good?"

"Semiko said she didn't want to marry me."

"Who's Semiko?" Yukio asked.

"Zev's fiancée. The marriage was arranged, before her father died," Emiko explained.

"Actually, it was after, and she decided she wanted to marry Lobo instead."

"Sorry to her that," Emiko said

"Sorry for who? Her or Lobo, seriously she's so annoying I can't stand her." Zev stood up, "Do you want to take another mission or do you want to rest longer?"

"Yukio should rest longer," Emiko answered.

Zev sighed, "Well tell me when you think it's time for another mission." Zev went up to his apartment slowly he could hear Emiko and Yukio arguing.

It took Zev a while, but he finally got up to his apartment. It was one of the top apartments. His clan didn't want him with them. Zev sighed as he opened the door to his apartment. It wasn't anything special, it only had two rooms. It was also a mess. There were lots of holes in the wall, _How did those get there? _he wondered.

Zev could hear someone breathing hard, he figured out were exactly the person was. He walked by the person and the person came out with a knife. Zev caught it. He grabbed the person by the neck and said, "Seriously don't breathe so hard if you setting a trap for someone, especially if he's one of the greatest ninja in the village," Zev threw him out the front door and watched him plummet. The attacker did some jutsu and managed to avoid plummeting to death.

Zev walked back into his apartment. He sat down on the bed and took off his boots. He just sat there for a while. Zev figured he should eat. He found a can of soup. He tossed it in his hand. He looked at the expiration date, "A month past…," he said aloud. He shrugged, opened up the can and began to heat it. He used a wood burner that the smoke stack went up and out the roof. When it was ready he ate and discharged some energy he found a box that he put the balls in, and he went to sleep.

When he woke he was aware someone was in the room. He reached for a folding fuuma shuriken underneath his bed. "Wait! It's me!" he heard a familiar voice say.

"Semiko? What is it?" he said, he made sure that his anger was heard in his voice.

"It's just that… it's just that… I was forced to change my mind to marry Lobo, I'm sorry," Zev could hear that she wasn't.

"Let me guess, Lobo some how convinced you do to that? Get out," Zev watched her leave.

He heard some one ask as she left and closed the door, "Did he buy it?" Zev shook his head and banged the wall with his fist. He accidentally punched right through the wall, _Oh yea, that's how those got there._


	5. Chapter 5 A Chance To Escape

Chapter 5 A Chance To Escape

The next week Zev was going crazy. He was sick of people intentionally bumping into him and trying to pick fights with him. He decided it was time for a mission, as Emiko thought Yukio need more time to heal, even though he could not understand what was taking so long, he decided to do one on his own.

He went down to the town hall where they handed out missions in this village. He went in and people avoided him. Not that he blamed them, his eyes were almost yellow the whole time this past week.

He looked at the available missions for him. Some were given the B rank even though he still was just a genin. One caught his eye, it was an assassination. _Perfect, _He thought, _that will give me plenty of time to get away from here._

He asked about the details of the mission, he was disappointed to learn that it was for the next two days. When the target was going to be with a days walk from here, _Still,_ he thought _that's some time away. I'll go out and wait for two days._

He accepted the mission.

He waited in a tree, the target should be coming by soon. He heard some footsteps approaching, he also heard some voices. He waited to see how many were there. _Oh… Shit…_he thought when he saw who it was. It was Leta, and her squad. Leta was walking in front of the target. Zev noticed she wore her forehead protector around her waist, and she carried a small pack. The target wore a wide brimmed hat, and he wore a grey vest. His pants were a darker grey. The rest of Leta's squad was behind him.

One was an Uchiha. From what Zev knew almost all Uchihas were killed not too long ago, one survived, their numbers were still few but they still were a name to be feared. He wore a dark blue jacket, and a dark blue pair of long shorts. His forehead protector went across his head, and wore a large backpack. His legs and hands, from what Zev could see, were wrapped up. The other genin was complaining that his chips were ruined from the rain. He wore a black coat over his grey shirt, and his pants were also grey. He wore the forehead protect across his forehead as well, he also had a large pack.  
"Is food all you think of, Niku?" The Uchiha asked.

"No Utsuha, I don't think only of food. I think of other things."

_Utsuha Uchiha, and Niku, huh? I wonder who strong they are. _Zev thought as they began arguing,_ Like it matters though, _He pulled out a kunai, _all I have to do is use Relatzer no Jutsu, slash the target and get out before they even know what hit them. _Zev stood poised to move, but he felt paralyzed, "Damn it," he said aloud.

"What was that?" The Uchiha asked.

_He heard me? I have to get out before they know I was here._

"Leta, use your Byakugan!" The Uchiha ordered.

Leta nodded and activated it. She looked around using it and caught a glimpse of a blue aura. Suddenly there was a bright flash, Leta covered her eyes. She took her hand off her eyes when she heard a thunder clap. She looked again, but she couldn't find it again.

"Leta, do you see anything?" Niku asked. She shook her head, "That's funny, I could have sworn I heard someone say something."

Zev ran back toward the village, _What held me back, back there? They didn't know I was there till I spoke aloud. So it couldn't have been a jutsu. What was it? _

When he got back to village, he went right to the town hall and reported that the mission was a failure. Zev heard his brother walk up behind him, "A failure, huh? Sounds like your life story, He took the paper with the mission specifics out of Zev's hand, "I think I'll take this mission," he walked off with the paper in hand.

Zev watched him for a moment, _Like I care what happens, _he walked out of the town hall, _It's not my fault if he dies. It's not like I'm killing the target. _

Zev heard a voice inside him say, "_Isn't inaction as just as bad as killing them yourself? You know he won't just stop at the target, he'll kill them all."_

"Damn it," He said as he broke into a run back to his apartment. He saw Emiko looking around when she saw Zev she shouted, "Zev! Come here real quick!"  
Zev ran over, "What is it? I'm in a hurry."   
Emiko handed over two swords with what looked like a pair of brass knuckles wielded into the handle, "These are from our sensei. He sent this along as well," She handed Zev an envelope.

Zev said a quick thanks and continued running. He opened the letter as he ran.

_Zev,_

_I made these swords for you. If you pour your chakra into them, it will add an effect to the blade, normally this kind of sword is meant for those whose chakra is of the wind element. But, I think with your skills you can make it work._

_Your sensei,_

_Jada._

_P.S. No matter what happens there are those who still are behind you._

Zev exposed the paper to his chakra. It crumpled and split in two. Zev smiled, _I guess some things don't change._ He thought, _He always used the kind of paper that's easily affected by chakra. _Zev threw the swords on his back. He tied them together so that the swords wouldn't fall off.

When he got to his apartment he moved quickly, he grabbed a leather glove and put it on his right hand he wrapped some black senbon around his right ankle. He grabbed a pack of shuriken, and strapped around his leg. He grabbed a kunai pouch and a belt and put them on. He stopped and looked at a small medicine container near his bed. He picked it up. _Leta gave me this, _he thought. He put it in his kunai pouch and ran out.

He ran out using _Relatzer no jutsu_. He got down to the gate. Someone asked him where he was going. "I'm just going out to do some training and to relax a little," he said smiling, "I'll be back in like a week, I think."

Once he was out of the village he used his _Relatzer no jutsu. _He extended the length into that of two jutsus. When he got there he was surprised that Lobo hadn't gotten there yet, _I'm not too late, _He thought, and he gave a mental sigh of relief. He saw that they all looked tired. _It's probably because of the rain, _he thought. A lot of people not from around here thought the rain was just too much, _I guess I can't blame them. It does rain 364 days here out of the year. _

Zev followed them around the area. Keeping just out of sigh, so that if nothing happened they didn't need to know someone was watching over them. _Lobo, _he thought, _If you got lost, I'll never let you live it down._

Zev heard Leta shout, "Who are you?"

"Who are you shouting at, Leta?" Zev heard Utsuha ask Leta.

"There's someone ahead of us."

The person Leta was talking about began to appear out of the rain, "I'm your hell on earth," he said with a vicious underlying tone.

_Aw… Hell no. _Zev thought. It was Lobo.

Zev heard Niku shout out some jutsu, and he saw this massive ball roll towards Lobo. Lobo punched the ground and then jumped. There was an explosion on the ground and the ball was right in the center of it. Zev moved around. He saw that the ball was just Niku, _That's some weird jutsu, _he thought.

Lobo attacked Utsuha next. Utsuha lasted about five seconds, he wasn't killed but he was certainly beaten badly. Then he moved on to Leta. He appeared right in front of Leta. She fell down. She put an arm up in front of her, touching her finger to her lip. She was wide eyed in panic. "Zev?" she asked.

Lobo got right down in her face. "Oh so you know my brother, huh? Well sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you," he raised his hand in a fist. Leta eyes grew wide. She saw that his hand was on fire. Almost like chidori. Leta closed her eyes and screamed. Even though her eyes were closed she saw a bright flash and heard loud thunder clap. She opened her eyes, and looked at Lobo. His eyes were rolled up in his head, and the fire had disappeared from his hand. There was a lot of lightning coming from behind his head.

Lobo fell to the ground. Zev was standing there, lightning still emanating from his hand. Utsuha had woken up. He saw Zev and charged him. Leta shouted, "Wait!" Utsuha stopped, and nearly fell over in the process.

"Wait?" he shouted, "Wait? He was just attacking us," then he saw Lobo on the ground. "Oh…."

Zev looked at Utsuha, "Grab your friend and let's move."

"I'm fine," Niku said waiving a hand in the air, "It's just that move makes me sick," Utsuha went over to help him anyways.

Zev looked at the target, "I'm surprised you didn't run," he sat there a moment, waiting for a response. He couldn't see his eyes because of the hat. Zev moved the hat. "He fainted," he said flatly, a little surprised. Leta stood up and woke him up. Zev walked off the road to some woods, "Follow me!" he shouted.

They followed but they were confused. "Why are we going this way?" Niku asked.

"Because that was my brother, if I know one thing about him, it's that he'll continue to follow you all unless you're out of our area. This way is the fastest out of here."

"Zev," Leta started, "why… why are you… helping us."

Zev looked at her and paused, "Hell if I know," he said after a moment, "I'm a little confused to as why myself."

Zev heard the voice that prompted him to act before speak up again, _"You know why."_

_Shut up, _he thought, _The last thing I need right now is to be hearing voices._

As they were walking, everyone introduced each other. Zev pretended not to know their names. He remembered everyone's names except the Target, whom, in his head, he still called the Target.

After a while, they across a small river, "Umm…," every one looked at Utsuha, "I don't know how to put this…," he put his hand behind his head and kicked at a rock, "I can't swim."

"You've got to be joking." Zev said, "Fortunately," he sighed, "you don't have to swim in this river, because it's not that deep. But, you should learn as soon as possible, sometime you will have to swim," Zev sprinted across the water, emanating chakra from his feet. He looked back at the others they were wading the stream, _Don't they know how to walk on water yet? _Zev went back and helped them across.

He started with Leta. He lifted her out of the water, and walked back. He helped the Target as well. The Uchiha and Niku claimed they didn't need help. So he let them be.

They continued along the path they were traveling, until they came to a tree with a blue ribbon tied around it. Zev looked toward the sky, and saw that it had become dark. "We're going to camp for the night," he said, "We might not get another chance to camp in a dry place."

"Hold on a sec," Niku said, "we can keep going, and this rain can't last that much longer."

Zev laughed, "You've never been here before, I have. It rains three hundred, and thirty four days a year here," he laughed again, "If you had kept going, you probably would have died of a cold," Leta seemed to prove his point by sneezing. Zev took down the ribbon, and went off. Leta followed right behind him, the others followed her.

They came to a cave. Everyone except Zev went inside right away. Zev found a spot and dug into the ground. He dug till he came to a stone. He lifted up the stone and there was a hollowed out rock with some wood in it. It was still wet but it would work. He pulled out the logs and went in the cave. The cave was very small just high enough for him to sit up.

"What are we going to do for warmth?" Niku asked. Zev threw down the logs right in front of him. "These won't do," he said, "They're wet they won't catch fire."

Zev set them up regardless. He touched the wood and sent a burst of his chakra out from his finger tips and dried the logs. Another burst started a fire. Leta had a sneezing fit.

Zev looked at her, "I'm alright," she said.

"No, you're not," Zev said as he crawled over, "Here," he touched her arm and sent a burst of chakra through her. Leta felt warmth rush through her as the electricity caused her clothes to dry out, and caused her to warm a little too. She felt her cheek, checking to see if it was Zev or her blushing.

"Can you do that for us?" the Target asked. Zev shook his head, "May I ask, why?"

"Because there's a good chance I might go insane," Zev said. The man laughed, "I was not joking." Zev said with great emphasis. The man stopped laughing. Zev felt himself beginning to succumb to fatigue, "One of you, take first watch. I'll take third but for the moment I need rest I used up too much energy as is," And he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6 Some Time Away on Parole

Chapter 6 Some Time Away on Parole

Zev woke up and it was dawn. He saw Niku keeping watch, he wasn't wearing his jacket, "Why didn't you wake me?"

"We thought that you should rest some more" he said looking straight forward, "Leta's getting worse."

Zev looked at Leta. She had Utsuha's and Niku's jacket covering her. Someone had the sense to put her as close to the fire as possible. She was shivering. Zev put a hand on her forehead, _I've never tried this before, but I better not tell them that. _He released a steady stream of chakra out of his hand and into Leta. He put his other hand on Leta's stomach and he let the electricity flow back into him.

After a few minutes and a lot of ignoring questions from the others, Leta stopped shivering. A few minutes later she felt like sitting up. Niku pulled out food from his pack and Leta took it. Zev noticed that he only brought food in his pack.

Leta asked for her pack and the Target handed it to her. She rummaged around in her pack. She pulled out a small medicine container, and she asked if someone could get her some water. Zev pulled off the target's hat, which got a complaint from the Target, and handed it to Niku. He held it out in the rain.

Zev pulled out the medicine container Leta had given him before he left the village hidden in the leaves. "Leta, can you use this?"

"Oh...! Thanks." She said taking it. "This medicine is a lot stronger. I… I used a few of those chakra balls in it."

She popped the cap on it; it had the color of Zev's chakra balls, "You are aware that more than likely, that will have the same effect of the chakra balls, right?"

"Yes." She said. She took back the hat, put a little of the medicine in the water, and stirred it. Eventually the water turned the same color as the medicine. She handed back the container to Zev. Leta drank it all. Zev could see that she was gagging on it.

_The stuff must taste as bad as the balls themselves,_ he thought. After Leta drank it all she laid back down.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Utsuha asked.

Zev shook his head, "I don't think so. Leta's sick, if we force her to keep moving in the rain. It could get worse. No, I think we should stay here another day. By the way, where is your joinin?"

"She didn't come," Utsuha said, "This mission was a really low ranked mission. She figured we didn't need help. Here's a question for you, why did your brother attack us?"

"He attacked you because there was an assassination mission to kill this guy," Zev pointed at the Target, "I was supposed to kill him early last morning. But something stopped me. I don't know what. Anyways I came back and said the mission was a failure. That's when my brother decided to go and kill him. Obviously, he didn't plan on just killing him," Zev looked at Leta, she had fallen back asleep. He looked at the target, "Who are you really, why did someone figure they should kill you?"

The Target sighed, "In my hometown, I'm fighting to kick out a gang of people. I thought they would send people from the gang. So I said I just wanted protection from common bandits," He finished saying, "I'm sorry for this. I didn't think they'd send ninja. I understand if you want to leave me."

Utsuha was deep in thought, so was Niku. Zev spoke up, "Well it's either, we leave you, or I keep an eye out on you guys for the next two days. It's not just up to me it's also the choice of the others, but I'd prefer to continue with you guys, rather then go back to the hell hole I call home."

Utsuha nodded, "Yea, I'd rather finish the mission. Rather than go home and admit I left after learning there was some opposition," Niku nodded in approval.

Zev crawled out of the cave. "I'm going to find some more firewood," he said when he could stand up again.

Utsuha warned him, "Be careful, I set traps out there while you were sleeping."

Zev walked out and stepped on one of the traps. He grabbed the kunai that went flying at him. He grabbed it and looked back at Utsuha, "I know," he said.

It wasn't long until he found enough fire wood to refill the container he took from last night. It took even less time to find wood for tonight. When he got back to the cave, he found a familiar face sitting on a rock big enough to cover the cave opening, "I refilled the stone for you," the person said.

"Thanks."

"Did you get my gifts?"

"Yes I did. I haven't got a chance to use them yet."

"Did you hear about what's going on back home?"

"I've been gone for about a day."

"Lobo is in a rage."

"That figures."

"Who's in the cave?"

"Three genin and a man with a price on his head. One's sick."

"Let's get inside out of the rain." He stood up and moved the rock. As soon as there was room for a person to squeeze out, Utsuha jumped out.

"I don't know how you got past my traps, but…," Zev cut Utsuha off.

"First of all, they're obvious. Too text book, actually it alerts people to your presence. Second, this is my sensei, Jada."

When every one got back in the cave, introductions were made. Leta had gotten up since Zev was out. When it came down to the target, Jada said, "So you're the man with the price on his head."

"My name is-"

"Target works too," Zev said.

"I'll be able to remember that," Jada said ignoring the comment by the Target. He looked at Utsuha, "Where's your joinin?"

"She didn't come. This mission was ranked D. Now it would probably be a B ranked or a C."

Jada leaned back, "Hey Utsuha, you said you set the traps right?" Utsuha nodded, "Don't follow the book so exactly, when it's like that, it gets obvious to those who know how to set traps as well. Also, I noticed that most of your traps used smaller things like kunai's or small shuriken. Don't be afraid to go a little over kill with the weapons. When I can, I use fuuma shuriken. Or poison your weapons like Zev here."

Zev interjected, "Be careful with the poisons though."

Jada started laughing, "Remember when you tried to create a small shuriken with poisoned edges and you accidentally cut your self with it?"

Zev turned away, "Shut up. I was five at the time."

Utsuha interjected, "You were a ninja at five years old!"

Jada explained, "No, I was just teaching him."

"What happened?" Leta asked.

"Well I had switched the poison out with a look-a-like liquid. But Zev thought it was still the poison, so when he cut himself he ran around the room screaming, like a little girl."

"I was five and I was not screaming like a little girl!" Zev shouted in protest. Everyone except him was laughing. His eyes had turned yellow, "What about the time when I accidentally stabbed you with a black senbon?"

"Zev you promised never to speak about that ever again."

"Black senbon? What's that?" Utsuha asked.

"I paint my poisoned senbon black to differentiate. I had yet to poison a batch and I needed something to do target practice, I was taking to long so Jada came and snatched it out of my hand. It stabbed Jada's hand because I was about to throw it. He looked at it, screamed a little girly scream, and fainted. When he came to I had already pulled it out, he saw the blood on the senbon, remembered what happed, and fainted again."

Every one was laughing except Jada now. He looked at Zev, who was smirking, "You are an evil kid."

A few hours later, Jada noticed Leta was getting worse. "Zev, come here," he said very quietly as not to draw to much attention, "She's getting worse."

"That's not good," Zev attempted to do the same thing he did before. After a few minutes, he looked up, "It's not working."  
Jada crawled over to the others, "Did Leta show signs of being sick before?"

Utsuha said, "Well she's been sneezing for, like, the past week. Actually I didn't think she should go on this mission. She wasn't looking good. But she said she would be fine," he looked at her, "Now I wish we stayed back."

Jada went back to Zev, "She's been sick for a while. It may have started out as something not serious, but with the rain…," Jada trailed off. He didn't need to finish.

_Damn it! _Zev thought, _If she gets any worse, she'll be close to death._

"_You have two options, one, to trust me and let me handle it, or two, hope for the best with out my interference."_

Zev sighed, "I'm going to try something," then he spoke to the voice in his head, _Okay, you handle it, _and he felt himself lose control of his body. He saw his himself lean close to Leta, his mouth right over hers.

"Umm… Zev? What are you doing?" Jada saw a stream of blue energy, which he recognized as chakra, leave Zev's mouth and enter Leta's. Then Zev fell over unconscious.

Zev stood in a room. He knew it was a room, even though he couldn't see the ceiling or the walls. On his right and left were two large cages. He assumed that they went up to the ceiling. He looked at the ground below him. It was a large circular platform. There was a low mist that rolled off the platform and onto the lower ground. There was about a foot difference between the platform and the ground.

Suddenly, fire shot up from in front of the left cage, and Lightning came down from the cage on his right. He saw two creatures, both wolves, come closer to the bars of the cages. The wolf on his left appeared like fire, the one on his right looked like lightning. He looked at the one on his left first. He noticed its eyes were red. He looked at the other one, its eyes were yellow.

"Where am I?" he said.

"Inside your subconscious," The lightning wolf said. His voice was surprisingly quiet; its voice reminded him of his own.

"Inside a hell," The other wolf said, his voice sounded brutal, inhuman, and very loud.

"Ignore him," the lightning wolf said, "My name is Zev, Zev. His name is Lobo. We were sealed in the first Alcido. We are the source of you kekkei genkai."

"So does that mean that demons sealed in someone are passed down?"

"Yes…," he started, "Leta has a demon inside as well, but its consciousness has died; only its chakra remains."

"Then why are you two still alive?"

"The different nature of the seals, but that is enough question and answers for now. Our time is short. Zev your potential is limitless; you just need to remove some barriers that, you yourself, set up. And another thing, I'm changing some things in Leta so she won't be so harmed by the chakra balls. These changes in her were already starting when you gave them to her not that long ago, I'm just speeding up the process. So when you wake up, give some to her and get moving, Lobo's on his way toward you."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because that was the deal with the first Alcido."

"Huh?"

"No time," He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, "Awake!" he shouted.

Zev still heard the wolf's voice ringing in his ears when became aware of Jada slapping him and telling him to wake up.


	7. Chapter 7 Outta' here

Chapter 7 Outta here

"Hey! Leta's awake!" Niku said.

Utsuha looked away from Zev and looked at her. Jada asked Zev, "What just happened there?"

Leta spoke up, "We have to go."

Utsuha objected, "No, you're still sick."

"Zev didn't you have the same dream?"

"Probably something along the lines," he said, he cupped his hand together and made two chakra balls. Leta held out her had for them. "We have to go, now!" Zev said, "Jada, I need you to replace the ribbon. If Lobo comes by asking about you being there say that you just spent the night here."

Jada nodded, "Okay, but I'm not sure he'll come," he said.

"He will," Zev said, "I know."

"How?"

"I talked with a demon."

Jada had a questioning look on his face, but decided not to press the issue. He went out to tie up the ribbon, while the others ran. Just as he finished tying it up, Lobo walked up, with Emiko, and Yukio behind him. "Emiko? Hey how's it been?" Jada asked.

"What are you doing?" Lobo asked.

"I just spent the night in the cave over there; I'm tying up the ribbon."

Emiko asked, "Have you seen an old man with a wide brimmed hat, and three hidden leaf ninja?"

"No, did you give Zev my present."

She sighed, "Yes I did."

"Ah that's good. I have to go back to village now. Maybe we can talk later."

"Whatever." Yukio said.

Zev asked Leta, "Can you use your Byakugan to look behind us and see if Jada encountered Lobo?"

Leta stopped and used Byakugan, "Yes, Emiko and Yukio are with Lobo," she said, "They're different."

"What do you mean?"

"They have a different aura around them. It looks sort of the one like the one around Lobo, except it's a lot weaker." Leta looked at Zev; she saw that the Blue aura that jumped around like lightning had grown stronger and the red fire inside had grown weaker. She looked back again, "Jada has a gold aura," She looked at her teammates. Utsuha had a gold aura like fire, and Niku had an aura like a whirl wind that was grey.

Zev spoke up, "We have to keep moving. I want as much distance between us and Lobo as possible."

The others nodded and they continued running. Periodically Zev asked Leta if she wanted another chakra ball. Most of the time she said no, but sometimes Zev ordered her to take one. They ran well into the night. Eventually, the need for sleep caused them to stop at a cave.

Zev performed the same trick he used on Leta the first night to ward off the cold from the rain. They went as far back in the cave as possible. Utsuha suggested not building a fire which might attract attention. Zev agreed.

The cave in the back split into three sections each big enough for two people to lie down in. Utsuha and Niku both slept in one, and the Target had his own, which left Leta and Zev.

Leta couldn't fall asleep. She lay there, listening to the rain. She looked at Zev; he was asleep already with his back turned to her. She sighed, and looked back up. After sitting there for a while she could hear her heart beat, it was much faster than it should be.

Zev rolled over and was facing her. Leta felt her heart skip a beat. She could feel Zev's breath on her skin. _He's so close to me! _she thought. She rolled over and forced her self to think of other things.

She heard a noise, "Is… is-" she never got a chance to finish her sentence when Zev put a hand over her mouth. He gave her a look and put a finger to his lips. She got the message that she needed to be quiet. He mouthed the word Byakugan. She nodded and activated it. She looked at the source. It was a person. She noticed the aura around him was like Utsuha's. She looked farther away, through the stone. No one else was there.

"I think it's Jada," she said quiet even for her. Zev moved out slowly. Once he got a look at the person he relaxed, a little.

"Jada?"

"Zev! Zev, I have really bad news."

"What?"

"Your clan has just decided to get rid of you for good."

Zev shrugged, "Worse things have happened."

"Emiko, Yukio, and Lobo are the ones after you."

"Oh… SHIT!"

"Yea, I don't know what you should do, especially if you value Emiko and Yukio's lives," Leta got up and stood next to Zev

"What do you mean?" Leta asked.

"Zev won't be able to execute any killing blows to Lobo. Lobo would use a substitution Jutsu, and replace himself with Emiko or Yukio."

Zev took off his forehead protector and his vest; he took a kunai, and ripped up his vest. He cut the palm of his hand, he smeared blood over his vest, and he handed it to Jada, "Take these and throw them into a river or off a cliff. But leave clues to where they might be, hopefully they'll find these and assume I'm dead already." Jada took them and left. Zev stood there for a while, while Leta stood there looking at him. She saw that his blood was a royal blue.

"Zev…," she mumbled, "Maybe we should… go back to sleep?"

Zev nodded, "Yea, you're right."

They crawled back into the section where they were sleeping. "Zev… I'm sorry," Leta said, but she wasn't sure if Zev heard her.

Jada knew exactly what to do. He ran straight to Lobo, "Lobo, have you seen Zev? I think he's badly hurt or worse!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look!" Jada held out the bloody vest and forehead protector. Lobo grabbed them and smelled them, which slightly freaked Jada out.

"Yea, that his blood alright. Where did you find these?"

"Near the base of a cliff near a river, I looked everywhere I couldn't find him."

"Can we just assume he's dead, and get back to the village?" Yukio asked.

"Yes," Lobo said, "The late Zev is no longer an annoyance," they ran back to the village, Jada did too.

_Zev, _he thought, _I hope this turns out alright._


	8. Chapter 8 Dreaming

Chapter 8 Dreaming

The next morning, Zev and the others walked toward the border of the village hidden in the rain's area of influence. No one questioned why Zev didn't have his forehead protector, or why he didn't have his vest. Nor did anyone ask why his hand was bandaged. After an hour of walking they came to a river.

"Hey isn't this the river separating these two areas?" Niku asked

"Yes. It is, and maybe we can get lucky," the Target responded. Niku gave a confused look at the target, when a boat came down the river, "Hey are you going north?" the Target asked.

"Is that you Dosu? Yes we are."

_Dosu, that's his name…._

"Mind giving me a lift?"

"No sir!" the man driving the boat threw out a line, "Grab on!" the Target grabbed the line and they pulled him on board. He waved good bye, and the boat went out of sight around a bend.

Zev looked at Leta, "Leta, I'm going to have to have a talk with your father, and also your joinin now that I think about it," Leta nodded, "If we follow this river we should be able to get not to far from your village," Zev carried Leta across. Niku swam across the river. Utsuha found another way across.

After a time of walking, Niku finally asked, "Zev, where is your vest? And where is your forehead protector?"

"I had to get rid of them; I needed to throw Lobo off our trail."

"Then why is your hand bandaged?" Utsuha asked.

Zev held up his hand, "I cut my hand to put blood on the vest. Hopefully Lobo will believe that I died."

"Why, I thought he was looking for Dosu?" Niku asked.

"I thought he was after the target too, but last night I talked with Jada. He said that my clan has finally decided to do away with me…."

They were silent until they got to a point far enough away that it wasn't a perpetual rain. Niku celebrated by opening a bag of chips, and Utsuha jumped around and did cartwheels. Zev stared at the rain clouds over his village. He felt Leta put a hand on his shoulder, "Zev…."

"Yea?" he turned to look at her.

"Um…. Well… I don't… know if you…. Um… heard me last night…."

"I don't think so," Zev said, being very patient with her.

"Well… I'm… sorry, about your clan. I mean."

Zev smiled, "Don't worry. This is probably for the better, at least now it's not my fault. If I had spent one more day with them, well… you know," Leta didn't know, but she pretended to, "Come on," Zev said, "the others are getting ahead of us."

That night, when Zev slept, he appeared in between the cages again. As soon as the wolves appeared the fire one spoke, "Don't listen to the other," he started, "He'd lead you down a path of hardships, I can give you influence over men," Zev walked closer to the side closer to him, he liked the sound of this. Normally he wasn't one to be tempted by this but its voice seemed to hypnotize Zev, "I can give you power, power strong enough to conquer all the villages. You can influence whole countries," The wolf's voice was hypnotizing. Then he made a mistake, "Like the power I gave your brother," at the mention of his brother, Zev ran over to the other side.

"How do I get him to shut up?"

"Ignore him," The lightning wolf said, he laid down in the cage, "He can't talk to you if you don't pay attention to him. Anyways, do you want to hear how we got sealed? I gathered that you wanted to know that."

"How did you know?"

"We're in your subconscious. We ought to know," Zev saw the wolf's eyes go into a glare, at least he thought it was a glare, "Shut it, Lobo!" Zev looked back at Lobo, who was sitting and laughing.

"What did he say?" he asked, _Hey, he's right, _Zev thought, _I was ignoring him and I couldn't hear him at all. _

"He made a comment on Leta, it wasn't appropriate."

"I said…. Hey! Are you listening to me! I'm talking to you!" Zev was ignoring Lobo.

"Can you guys read my thoughts? Zev asked, "Because I don't remember thinking of Leta…."

"No, we can only read your subconscious thoughts."

"Then what was I subconsciously thinking?"

"You're crushing on her… now do you want to hear the story?"

"Wait…. What! I'm not crushing on her…"

"You don't think you are because you cut your conscious self from such emotions…. But no matter how hard you try your subconscious can't be cut off of those things. Remember how you felt paralyzed, when you tried to kill Dosu? Your subconscious stopped you. You didn't want Leta to fail her mission. Now do you want to hear the story or not?"

Zev shifted uncomfortably. "All right," he said, "let's hear it."

"Well, long ago," Zev jumped as the area around him seemed to fade into a time long ago, he recognized the scenery as the village hidden in the rain, Zev's home, before it was turned into a village, "Lobo and I over there were fighting," Zev saw Lobo running away from Zev, every once in a while Lobo would turn and get a bite in, and then he would run again. Occasionally, Lobo would turn and Zev would tear into him and Lobo would run, "We both were injured, after a long battle. I was dying, I knew lobo would recover," Zev saw that this was true; the wounds on Zev were numerous, while the ones on Lobo were few, "Eventually a man came along, he found me there," Zev saw a man come into view, he admired his bravery. Zev knew he would be too scared to go that close to a wounded wolf, let alone a demon wolf whose size easily dwarfed him, "I asked for his help, to let me seal myself and Lobo, in him with my death, he agreed, but demanded that I help him when he called on me. In order to not fail in fighting Lobo, I agreed to his terms," Zev saw the sealing of the demons play out in front of him. Zev noticed that Lobo, who had run away from Zev as soon as he could have, wasn't sealed then, "As you probably noticed, Lobo wasn't sealed right away. Me and the man had to find him," Zev saw the man leave the mountain, and chase after Lobo, "He used a technique that I had given him," Zev saw the man reach out his hand with blue lightning in his palm. Zev involuntary ducked when it shot out in a cone shape, "_tenchi sesshousuru no jutsu,_" the wolf Zev closed his eyes, "unfortunately it took more than that to defeat Lobo. The fight played out in front of Zev's eyes, it was a long fight but eventually Lobo lost, and was sealed. "We'll continue talking tomorrow night, Leta's getting worried…."

Zev woke up with Leta sitting over him, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You were in a coma!" She said, "It looked like you were dreaming, but everything pointed towards a coma. When I tried to wake you, you wouldn't wake up!" Zev noticed she wasn't stuttering or mumbling.

"I'm alright, don't worry," He said smiling, he looked around. He was in the shelter they had made last night. Now it was morning. Leta probably came to wake him, when it came time to bring down the shelter. He just noticed Utsuha and Niku in the shelter as well. They were looked like they had just fallen in a river, "What happened to you guys?"

"When nothing could wake you up Leta asked us to get some water to splash on you, Utsuha fell in and pulled me too," Zev felt his shirt, it was wet.

He walked out side and put one hand up the sky and made some hand signs with his other hand. He brought the other hand to the ground and lightning struck him. It dried off his clothes, and cleaned them. His clothes were warm afterwards. He turned around and Utsuha had jumped into the nearby tree.

"Why are you in that tree? We should get moving."

"It's just that, that bolt surprised me," Utsuha said as he jumped down. Zev looked at the tree then down to the ground.

"You jumped from the ground to the tree? That's quite a feat," Niku sat up; he had been lying on the ground. He had mud foot print on his face "Ah… never mind."

The next night Zev appeared in between the cages again. He totally ignored Lobo this time, and went straight to Zev, "So, why does Lobo want to help my brother?" he asked.

"He doesn't. Actually, he wants to destroy him, he actually hates the Alcidos, remember how, he promised to give you power, and influence?"

"Yes."

"Do you also remember how he said, I would bring hardships?"

"Yes."

"Well I am going to cause a few hardships in your life, but nothing that you can't handle, while he will give you an easy life."

"So why do I still want to listen to you?" the giant wolf laughed, "Why are you laughing?"

"Because that's where I normally lose people." he shook his head, and continued. "His path will only lead to self destruction. Do you know why?"

"Because smooth seas don't make good sailors, while what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"

"Something along those lines, yes," The giant wolf gave, what Zev thought was a shrug, or at least the equivalent of a demon wolf's shrug, "Here I want to teach you something," Zev suddenly stood in a field. "The move I want to teach you is destruction field," Zev felt him self lose control of his body. He felt his chakra move out in a field, it parted and made a dome. Because of the nature of his chakra, it jumped around; when this happened he could see lightning, shooting off in the field. Suddenly he got control of his body again, and he returned to the cages. He suddenly felt confident he could perform the technique at a moments notice.

"Wow," he said, "can you teach me other moves like that _tenchi sesshousuru no jutsu_?"

"No," the wolf shook its head, "You have to learn that on your own, also you have barriers, walls that you've erected in your mind, keeping you from it."

"What are they?"

"I can't tell you that, Lobo's small influence keeps me from it. By the way, do you want an example of how your subconscious differs from your conscious?"

Leta woke up in the shelter, Zev was sleeping to her right, and the others were to her left. She looked at Zev; she noticed his breathing was very slow. She tried to wake him, she couldn't. "Niku, Utsuha, get some water! Zev's back in that coma!"

Niku and Utsuha sat up, Niku said rubbing his eyes, "I don't think we need to, Leta. He was just fine last time…,"

"I don't think its good that…," then she fell over unconscious.

Utsuha looked at Niku, "Get the water." And he crawled over to Leta and Zev.

"Leta slipped into a coma," the wolf said. Suddenly Zev heard his subconscious thoughts going through the area he was in, asking hundreds of questions, like a wind.

"Is it like this?" he asked raising his hands and gesturing around him. The beast nodded, "Then is it possible for me to talk to her?"

"Well, it's not exactly like this, you see, Leta's is more of a dream she probably won't remember it, while you're conscious. Here I'll show you," Suddenly Zev was in a room, there was a ledge around the top. Various people where standing on it. Zev recognized a few of them. The walls and floors were made out of a dark blue brick. In the center he saw Leta fighting at least twenty figures.

"Leta!" Zev shouted.

"She can't hear you," The wolf said, Zev didn't see him but he heard his voice, "You're not in this dream. She's been having this dream for a while now, she feels like she has to fight by herself. She's afraid that she won't be able to. This dream is her subconscious, making it a reality."

"Can you make me a part of it?" he pictured the wolf shrugging.

"I can, but I'll lose my hold on her."

Zev paused for a moment, "I'm not so sure I like the idea of you having control of her in the first place."

After a long pause the wolf said, "You're in…."

Zev put a foot on the railing to jump down; he felt a hand grab him it was Leta's father, "Let her fight…," was all he got out, before Zev threw him into a wall. He jumped down. He helped Leta take out a few of the figures.

When he got a chance to look at Leta, he said, "You don't have to fight alone," Suddenly Utsuha, and Niku appeared to help fight, it took a long time but eventually they won. Zev jumped back when he saw another him step foreword from where he was.

"Sorry Zev, that's all I can do," Zev walked out of Leta's subconscious. He looked back.

"It was good enough."

When Zev woke up, Leta was laying on top of him. He got up careful not to wake her. He knew she would be up soon. Utsuha and Niku came in with the water. They threw it on Zev before they realized he was awake, "Was that necessary?" he asked, as he shook the water off of him.

"Oh, sorry about that, Leta told us to get water before she fell unconscious." Utsuha explained.

"It's okay," Zev said. He looked outside and noticed it was still dark. He stepped out side and performed the same jutsu that he used to dry him self off before, "let's just go back to bed…," he ignored that Utsuha jumped into a nearby tree again, and that Niku was his spring board. He checked on Leta before going to sleep, she was just asleep now. She wasn't in the coma state. He sighed a sigh of relief and went to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9 Quite the week

Chapter 9 Quite the week

That morning, Zev and company continued on their way. It took a while convincing Leta, Zev was alright. Even then she wasn't entirely convinced, "Are… are you sure your alright?" she questioned him chasing him around the camp.

"Yes, Leta, I'm fine," Zev said.

"I mean… are you completely sure? You fell into a coma."

"Yes I am, and you were in one too for a short time too."

"Are you….."

"Leta, relax!" Zev cut her off. Leta either gave up, or decided he was all right after that, "By the way, Leta?"

"Yes?"

"You don't have to fight alone."

The rest of the trip, Zev didn't have anymore dreams. When they finally got to Konoha, Zev went right to the hokage with Leta. Leta walked into the house. She came back out with her father, "Hello, sir, we need to talk." After explaining why he couldn't go back to his village, he asked him for something, "I would like to become a Konoha ninja," he said.

After along pause the Hokage said, "I'll let you become one of us, if you can defeat one of our joinin," Zev agreed. Zev left after they decided that the match would be tomorrow.

"He won't be able to defeat a joinin!" Hinata told her husband after Zev left and Leta had followed him soon after.

"I don't like him; I don't know why he just gives me an odd feeling…. Like he's going to bring hell down on this village."

The next day, Zev went to the match between him and one of the joinin, he found out it was an Uchiha named Saskue. "Well this is going to be easy," he said aloud.

"Zev, you won't be able to defeat him! He one of the best! Trust me I know!" Utsuha exclaimed.

Zev didn't care. A fight examiner came up to monitor the match, Saskue rushed Zev before the examiner had said begin. Zev would have been taken off guard, but he thought along the same lines. Zev used _Relatzer no jutsu_ to get around Saskue. He threw a punch with a burst of chakra right into Saskue. The punch sent Saskue flying. Lightning shot out of Zev's hand. Saskue landed on his feet though, and sent a fireball right back. Zev managed to dodge it. He looked up. Saskue was there he threw a group of kunais at him. Zev managed to avoid getting major injuries. Saskue appeared next to Zev and he kicked him.

When Zev got up, Saskue threw a folding shuriken at Zev, who dodged it. Then Saskue threw a Kunai at him. Zev dodged it as well. He noticed the string tied to the Kunai. He heard the Shuriken coming back. He hit the floor, and the shuriken flew over head and hit Saskue's shoulder. Saskue ran up the wall holding his shoulder. He did _chidori_, Zev recognized the technique. He'd read about it in his old bingo book. It was a kind of whose-who of ninja. He knew that you had to hit the target to use it.

Zev sent out his chakra in a dome, but he with held the lightning so that Saskue would run into it before realizing it was there. Saskue ran down as soon as he was in the field, Zev released the lightning. Saskue fell to the ground twitching as lighting coursed through his body. Zev could have won the match there, but he used up quite a bit of chakra to keep the field hidden. So he let the field disperse, and he created a shadow clone to take his place, and he got out of there to recover a little.

When Saskue got up, he kicked Zev's clone in the air, he appeared below him. He kicked Zev. Zev blocked it. Saskue used the moment from the block to bring himself to the side of Zev, then he punched him, "You have a long way to go…" he said, when Zev hit the ground, Saskue kicked him, "_Shishirendan_!" Saskue stood up, and smirked. He lost the smirk when the clone disappeared.

He turned around. Zev jumped back in when Saskue's back was turned. Saskue turned back, "No more playing around!" he said as he activated his sharingan, "I thought you were just some hot-shot who I didn't need to use this on…."

"You're right, no more playing." Zev said, Saskue began copying his every movement. "Since you have your sharingan activated I won't use any regular jutsus." Zev said, and then he shouted, "_Chidorian_!" Zev's hands and feet started emanating lightning. This technique looked like Saskue's _Chidori,_ but unlike _Chidori_ it made a crackling sound instead of the bird like sound that _Chidori _was named after, "This is a lot stronger than _Chidori_, although it uses the same principles," Zev said.

Zev used _Relatzer no jutsu_ and kicked Saskue like the way Saskue kicked Zev's clone. There was an explosion from Zev's foot that had kicked Saskue; he lost the chidori-like effect on his foot. He followed Saskue in the air and punched him. He was sent speeding back towards the ground. He landed and he used his other hand to send him self back up. The only part of his body now that had the _Chidorian_ effect was his foot. Zev went higher then Saskue, and he starting rolling in the air. When they landed Zev kicked Saskue, the explosion created a large crater, "_Tenchi rendan_!" Zev shouted.

The examiner looked at Saskue, out of curiosity. He knew he was unconscious he actually thought he was unconscious at the point of the first effect of Chidorian, _He's going to have one major head ache when he wakes up, _he thought, "Winner, Zev Alcido!" he said pointing at Zev. Despite the large crowed only a few people cheered, Zev took a look around, most of those who weren't cheering were dumbstruck.

Leta, Utsuha, and Niku came out to take a look at Saskue. Leta had the forehead protector. Utsuha, nudged Leta, and pointed towards Zev. Who was now sitting down, with his back up against a wall. Leta kneeled down next to him, "Um… here's the… forehead protector…," she held it out. Zev took it and gave a weak smile.

"Thanks," he said breathing hard, "I'll put it on in a sec," he sat there breathing hard for almost a minute, and then he stood up. Utsuha came over.

"How come you never did that move before?" he asked.

Zev steady himself by putting his hand on the wall, "Trust me, if you could do it, you'd know why. It totally exhausts you. It basically is a last resort. Some people can use it more than once in a fight, but I'm not that skilled."

Utsuha looked at the crater that was left, _I would hate to fight someone as skilled as that! _he thought, "By the way, Zev, you're going to need a place to stay, for a while right?"

Zev shrugged, "I guess so." he said.

"Well why don't you stay with me for a while? Of course, my father might be a little upset," He said pointing at Saskue.

Zev nodded and he put the forehead protector on, "Thanks," He said. He wasn't surprised that Saskue was his father. He had already guessed Utsuha was closely related to Saskue.

"Wait…., what!" Zev shouted, Leta just told him that she and her mother were going to take him shopping for clothes.

"Well… you wore those, for a… while now… and I thought…."

Leta's mother spoke for her, "Leta told me you saved her life, I figured since you had to leave your home with out anything, I should take you to get you some clothes."

Zev sighed, "I'm not going to get out of this am I?"

"No, not really."

An hour later, Zev noticed for every bag of his own stuff, he carried two more. Not that he really could complain, they were gifts after all. He sighed, "Oh, come on now! You the person who goes on deadly missions almost all the time, gets bored during a little clothes shopping?" Leta's mother said. Zev bit back a comment. He set the bags down, and made a couple shadow clones and made them carry the bags.

He couldn't wait for this to end. About an hour later he finally got back to the Uchiha compound. He sent a clone to carry Hinata's and Leta's bags and he split his own between him and the clone. Zev was glad that the one who helped Leta and her mother didn't complain about carrying the massive load. He hadn't gotten much himself, mostly just a few pairs of pants and a few shirts, although the pants were spun with chakra, making them able to change color with chakra in them, same with the shirts which when unaffected by chakra, were black. The vest was a dark blue color. Utsuha was at his house when Zev got back.

"Anything interesting happen?" Utsuha asked.

"Not really," the clone Zev said.

"Although there was that fight," the real Zev said as he undid the clone jutsu, "some guy was hassling me, something about his shirt or something, when he grabbed me I got a little angry."

"What happened?"

"I did the bouncer a favor and threw him out the front door, and through the fence…."

Zev heard a door open, Niku came running in, "Utsuha, we have a mission."

"What's the rank?"

"It's a B rank. Good money too, we get to protect an ambassador for a day. It's just for a day and it's only within the village. Supposedly he got a threat from stone ninja. We get to do it because they think it was just an empty threat, so they're sending us."

"I think I'll go with you guys," Zev said, "This sound like some fun."

An hour later Zev was wishing he was still shopping with Leta and her mother. They took the ambassador to his meeting as soon as possible, since then he hadn't stopped talking about economics, political issues, and other such things. Then he started talking about something Zev found interesting, "It appears that the village hidden in the rain has brought together all the other villages, except for the Sand village and mist, but that might change soon, in some sort of alliance." then he continued talking about other matters and Zev once again wished he could simply nod off like Utsuha.

Eventually it came time to take the ambassador out of the village, on their way out two men stepped out, holding katanas. Zev pulled out his swords, and said, "What do you want?"

One said, "The ambassador's life."

"Hey, wait a minute, I remember you!" Zev said, and he put his swords away.

"Who are they?" Utsuha asked.

"Those are the guys who ticked me off, when I was shopping with Leta!" the two men dropped their swords and ran, "Well that's annoying." Zev said as he watched them run, _Annoying little bugs…, _he thought.

"Should… we chase them?" Leta asked.

Zev turned around and waved, "You guys can, I'm going to go find something else to do, Utsuha, you can take one, Niku, you can take the other, and Leta… you should probably stay with the ambassador until he's out of the village."

Later that night, Zev went back to the Uchiha compound, Utsuha was there, "What did you do?"

"I just did a whole bunch of those annoying D rank missions. I have enough money now to get a place of my own soon. It's surprising what people will pay for help with stupid things. What about you?"

"Well, I did what you said, that guy was pathetic. Oh! Yea, here," he said throwing a letter to Zev read it, "Apparently another team needed another member, so they took Niku.

Zev read the letter it was approved by the hokage, "So who's your third?"

"You are apparently."


	10. Chapter 10 A new sensei

Chapter 10 A New Sensei

Zev showed up a half hour early to train by himself the next day. He was surprised to find his new sensei. She wore a white shirt that extended into a skirt as well, she had a blue vest over it and she wore leather gloves. She had short brown hair. She looked up from a book she was reading, and glanced a clock. She went back to her book, "You're early," she said.

Zev shrugged, "I came by to do some training," he looked around, "Is this where we are going to be training?"

"Yes, it is," she said, "Why?"

"I'm a little worried that I'm going to leave this place in ruins."

"You're that confident, huh?"

Zev put his hand on one of the tall logs that was used for practicing Taijutsu, "Oh, yea," he said, he sent out a burst of chakra, "I'm sure," he said as it splintered into pieces, flying off in all directions.

_So this is the kid who beat Saskue. I believe it now, s_he thought, "Don't use your that kind of power when training today."

"So no kekkei genkai got it."

"Oh, here come the others," Zev looked back; sure enough Leta, and Utsuha were coming. He looked at the clock.

"There is still a lot of time before we needed to be here, why are they so early?"

"You don't think they're here to train?" she saw Zev's face and figured he knew that they weren't, "It's too early for them, they think, so they come early to keep me away from reading," she said closing her book. Zev thought he heard a whinny tone on the end, "Here," she said throwing a heavy vest at Zev, "put that on. Were doing speed training."

When Leta and Utsuha got there, Utsuha complained, "Aw… you told me I'd get to wear the vest next time, Osona-sensei," she ignored his comment, and held out two containers, one with blue powder, and one with red. Utsuha put the red powder on his hand, "Did Osona explain this exercise to you?"

Zev nodded, "You guys are going to try to catch me whoever has the most powder on the vest wins and gets to go out to eat," then he appeared behind Utsuha, "So do you think you can catch me?" Utsuha turned trying to hit him. Zev had already disappeared and reappeared elsewhere, "I don't even need to use _Relatzer no Jutsu_!"

Utsuha chased Zev elsewhere; Leta used her Byakugan to track Zev. Even then it was difficult to find him. Utsuha tried to mimic Zev, he didn't have his sharingan yet, but he could still try to mimic. Zev smiled and kept running to the right; Utsuha tried to mimic him perfectly but ran into a problem when he hit one of the training logs that were still there. Osona sighed, _I'm almost sorry for the other two, _she thought. Leta walked over and sat next to her, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well…. um…. There's no way…. that Zev will let Utsuha touch him," She pointed at Zev who was making a joke at Utsuha, while Utsuha sat on the ground pretending to be defeated. Osona got a look at Zev's back before Zev jumped back when Utsuha tried to get a hold on him. There was a single well placed blue hand print.

Osona decided Leta was right. She blew a whistle. It took Zev a while to get down from the tree he was hanging in while Utsuha was running around the base. When they both got there, Osona explained why she cut the exercise short, "Utsuha, you have a long way to go before you can catch Zev, so I'm cutting this practice short." Utsuha sighed and sat down head hanging. "Zev," he looked up, "You need to learn to pay more attention to everything around you." Zev had a very confused face on, "Did you look at your back?" Zev took off the vest.

"Good job, Leta!" he said, "I didn't even feel it," Leta beamed.

"So I'm going to take Leta out to eat."

"Um… Shouldn't we… take Zev out to eat as well? Since… he… definitely was able to beat Utsuha."

"Well how about this, if Zev can beat Utsuha in a match with out kekkei genkai," Osona reached into a box with various training instruments, "and with these on," She held out a weight that was to be strapped on the leg, "I'll take him out too, if Utsuha wins I take him out."

Zev shrugged, "What do I got to lose? I'm game."

"Me too." Utsuha agreed.

Osona tossed the weight to Zev, reached back into the box and threw another set to him. She pulled some out for the arms too, "I feel sorry for you," Zev said.

"You should save comments like that till after you've won."

"Not in this case, if I get one hit on you, you're going to want to stay down," Zev punched the ground in front of him, his arm was buried up to midway up his upper arm, "These weights may slow me down, but they'll make my blows much harder, and I'm much faster than I let on."

Utsuha held up a hand, "I forfeit, I don't want to spend the night in a hospital."

"I guess that means I win. Good thing that you didn't call my bluff."

"Bluff? What bluff?"

"I could barely lift my arm for that punch in these things." Zev got the weights off after much difficulty due to the insane weight.

Utsuha head drooped, "You mean…."

"Yep, you would have won if you had decided to fight." Zev smiled. Utsuha went over to a wall and started banging his head against it.

"Well, shall we go?" Osona asked cheerfully.

"Um… should we leave Utsuha like that?" Zev said beginning to walk towards Osona, and Leta.

"You should have seen him the time Niku beat him," was her response, she finished laughing

They ate a steak house. They had spent a lot of time just talking; Zev stopped talking when he saw a familiar and just as unwanted face walk in. He ducked under the table. "Why are you hiding under the table?" Osona asked.

"Do you see a blonde over there wearing heals, probably acting very stuck up?"

Osona noticed her immediately when she was demanding that they give her a better seat. "Yes, I see her," she said.

"She's from my village, her name is Semiko."

"Did she know you well?"

Zev nodded a little, "she was my fiancée."

"Fiancée!" Leta said a little louder than she intended, which was still very quiet.

"Well, we called it off. It was arranged by our parents." Zev peaked around the corner he leaned back against the table, "Well she did, but I was happy about that, she talks way, way too much."

"Why are you hiding though?"

"Well, my brother thinks I'm dead, she's probably now my brother's wife. Leta remember how you said Emiko and Yukio were different? You said their aura was different?"

_Aura? That's not normal for Byakugan. _Osona thought but didn't say anything

Leta nodded, "Then can you look at her and see if she has something like Lobo's aura?"

Leta nodded, and used her Byakugan. "She has an aura that looks exactly like Lobo's."

Zev sighed, "I figured, well anyways I got to get out of here," Zev slipped out the front door which was closer. Leta saw her father come in the front door right after Zev left.

Leta saw Semiko wave to her father, Leta got up and went to her father, she hugged him and whispered, "Please don't tell Semiko about Zev!" she said with a great urgency in her voice.

"How do you know Semiko?" he asked.

"I don't have time to explain now. Just don't mention anything about Zev!"

She walked back to her spot. Her hands were trembling, _Why am I so nervous? _she thought, _I was just talking to my father. _

When she sat back down Osona asked, "Why did you do?"

"I… I… told him… not to mention Zev." Leta watched her father talking with Semiko; she noticed that Semiko looked at her a couple times. Eventually it became time to go.

When they left, there was a bunch of drunks walking down the street. Leta noticed a few were the people she had beaten that day when she graduated. She hoped that they didn't notice her. They did, "Hey, it's that…." he paused as he stumbled, "girl. Let's get her!"

Osona fought with Leta. She saw Zev watching from a roof top. She shouted, "No!" while looking at him and she punched one of the drunks in the face, she hoped Zev got the short message not to interfere because Semiko was still there.

Zev saw the fight from above_, I got to go help! _He thought.

Then he heard the voice that he now recognized as the wolf, _"No! You can't Semiko is still down there! That's what Osona was trying to tell you! You're going to have to trust in Leta!" _Zev stood for a moment. Then he sat down.

The Hokage came out to see what the racket was about, Semiko was right behind him. He saw the drunks and decided to take care of them himself. He made several clones and each prepped a _Rasengan_. That took care of all of them. He undid the jutsu, and looked at Leta. He noticed that she didn't activate Byakugan. He made sure she knew to do it next time.

While he was talking, one of the drunks picked up a katana that was in the shack he crashed through; he ran and began to attack the Hokage while his back was turned and to busy lecturing Leta to notice. Leta ran behind him and hit the man, releasing a small burst of chakra, like she was taught to. Lightning shot out of her hand and sent the man flying backwards.

She looked at her hand then to her father. Who was just as confused as her, he saw Zev do that before, but it was a kekkei genki. Semiko also recognized that particular move. She decided to talk to her about that later.

The next ten days, it was very difficult to find Zev. Osona eventually gave up trying to find him. One day Semiko came to one of the training sessions. After the session, she talked to Leta; they both were sitting on a park bench, "Do you know what you did when you blasted that man that day outside the steak house?" Leta shook her head, "You did a kekkei genkai, from my village, I don't know how you got it, just that you do. How would you like some one to train you how to use it?"

"I….I… want to… learn how to use it myself."

"Are you sure? I could have my husband train you, he's a great man; he's constructing an alliance. We're trying to get-"

"Against what?" Leta interrupted

"Excuse me?"

"I thought that… that to have an alliance you have to… have something to ally against," Leta said looking at her hands.

"Can't you ally for peace?" Leta shrugged, "Listen you probably should get someone to train you," She brushed her hair with her hand, "My husband actually took his kekkei genkai to another level. He's much stronger, he doesn't use thunder; he uses fire. Don't you want to become strong like that?"

Leta shook her head, "I don't want to use fire… someone I know… uses thunder… I want to be like him."

Semiko smiled, "Is this a boy you like?" she got her response from Leta blushing even though she denied it, "That's quite okay, I remember a time when I like a boy who used thunder too. I thought he was nice, but after hanging around Lobo, I knew I didn't like that boy," she sighed and stood up, "I have to go back to my village now, if you want someone to train you, come there, and tell them I sent you," Leta sat there till she left.

_Zev's right she talks way too much._ Leta thought.


	11. Chapter 11 back again

Author's notes: I forgot to put a disclaimer on my last chapter so I'm putting one here. Also I finished this fanfiction so now I just have to put all the chapters up... I really don't feel like putting them all up at once because I have another Idea for a fanfic that's bouncing around in my head right now, but I'm working on another writing project so I'll have to do it another time

Disclaimer for chapter 10 & 11 I do not own naruto in anyway shape or form. Probably not even in another dimesion. 'Nuff said

Chapter 11 Back again

The next day Zev was ready for training. Leta was glad to have him back again. Utsuha was too, but for a much different reason. "Can we do the speed training? Please?"

Osona knew how much Utsuha was training for this he had increased his speed almost ten fold. "Okay," she said she handed Zev the vest, "You know the drill." Zev prepped up as did Utsuha, "No kekkei genkai." Leta tapped Zev on his back.

"Don't make it too hard for him," She said, looking at her feet.

"I know sensei." Zev said. He looked at Leta, "What, are you saying I should take it easy on him?" he was barely ready when Utsuha rushed him. He ducked and bolted. He moved on all fours. Utsuha was a step behind him the whole time. He still didn't get a chance to tag Zev. Leta sat down next to Osona.  
"I know you couldn't have tagged him." Osona said, she looked at Leta's hands she noticed only one hand had the powder. "You tagged him before it began!" She said, "That's using your head." Leta smiled.

They watched Utsuha's struggle to tag Zev, Zev still was having a little fun. Because Utsuha was so intent on tagging him, sometimes he didn't get a chance to stop when Zev turned, a few inches from the wall. Osona cut it short again. Utsuha walked up holding his nose. Zev walked in proud, "I know I wasn't tagged!"

"Check your back."

Zev groaned, he took it off and found the print. "How did…," he looked up at Leta, "Okay I give you a ten on creativity, but a zero on fairness."

"All's fair in love and war," Osona said, "So, Leta, where do you want to eat?"

"Hold on a sec, let's try this again," Zev said pacing out to the center of the area, "this time I won't hold back."

"No kekkei Genkai."

"Alright maybe a little held back."

"Fine, go."

Zev ran up on the wall. Utsuha shouted, "Hey wait a minute, I can't do that."

Zev smiled, "I know."

"Wait, Zev! That's not fair!" Osona said

"All's fair in love and war," Zev said, sounding exactly like Osona.

"Fine. Looks like I'm going to have to take you all out to eat."

Zev spent most of the time watching Utsuha pack the food away, "Are you sure you won't be sick?"

"Hey, this is my first time getting to eat on Osona's tab! I think I should be allowed to eat like this."

Zev shrugged, and looked at the girls across the table. They were also amazed by Utsuha's eating. _Maybe we should set up an eating contest, between Niku, and Utsuha… _Zev thought.

Leta asked Zev, "Zev, how… how did you… walk up the wall?"

"Chakra control, haven't you tried it?" Leta shook her head, "You can do other things as well when you learn how. Like walk on water."

"Oh, I thought that was just one of your kekkei genkai," Utsuha said

"No anyone can learn it," Zev said, "I've learned some things that are unique to me, or at least the way I do it."

"Like what?" Osona asked.

"Like destruction field," He left out the fact that he was taught by a demon, "Were you there for the match between me and Saskue?" Osona shook her head. "Well maybe some other time I can show you. It takes a lot of chakra, but it's worth it. It's almost a perfect defense. Well, except against anything that can be used from far away."

The next day it was another training day, and Zev made sure to show up extra early. He put on the vest and prepared for the others. He had talked to Osona; he said he had an idea for the speed testing. That would guarantee a good laugh after words. She said it was okay. Osona sat at the base of a tree, and watched. Zev seemed slower today. Several times she thought he was tagged but then elsewhere he'd appear and he wouldn't have a print on him.

Utsuha sat down pretending to act defeated, Zev came in and made a joke. Utsuha grabbed his leg, and made a print on his vest. Zev smiled and ran in a circle when he stopped he didn't have a print, _He couldn't have wiped it off, the stuffs hard to get out as is, how did he get it off?_ Osona thought.

Leta used Byakugan and looked around. She walked over by Osona, and reached behind the tree very carefully as not to draw attention. Zev jumped out, "Not going to be that easy." He said and disappeared.

_Shadow Clones! He's using shadow clones! _Osona laughed, as she realized the trick, and realized how futile Utsuha's attempts were. She watched Utsuha for a minute when she heard Zev speak again.

"So I'm guessing you figured it out?" She heard Zev say from the tree.

"Are you Zev, or a clone?"

"I'm a clone, the real me is not too far." Leta, Osona, and Zev watched Utsuha try desperately to catch Zev, the clones let him a few times which drove him even madder after one would disappear, and another took its place, "Do you think you should call it off?" Zev asked almost rhetorically.

Osona did so, the Zev clone disappeared and the real Zev took a spot leaning up against a tree. Utsuha walked in panting, "I don't know how, but he had to be cheating…," he said.

"Sorry Zev, you did cheat, he can't make shadow clones like you can."

Utsuha fell over and stared up at the sky, groaning. Zev shrugged, "Well, who gets to go out and eat?"

"Well you cheated; Utsuha didn't use his head and figure the trick out. So that leaves Leta."

Utsuha sat up, "By the way, Osona-sensei? When are we going on another mission?"

She waved back while walking off with Leta, "In a few days…," She said, "We're waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone? Who?" Zev asked rhetorically not expecting an answer.

The next day it was training, again. This time they met in the forest. Zev came a half hour early. Osona was already there. She was reading her book. "What are we going to be training for today?"

"Actually, Zev, I thought you could help me train the others. We're doing Chakra control training."

"So you have those papers?"

"What papers?" she said, turning the page.

"You know those ones that react to chakra?" Zev put up his fingers into a square shape.

Osona, rummaged around in her bag, "You mean these?" She said holding up a piece of paper, the paper suddenly became soaked.

"Yea, my sensei found out what our types were before doing any chakra training."

"I see, as you probably guessed I'm a water type, what are you?" she said tossing a paper to Zev. Zev took it.

"I have a kekkei genkai so," the paper crumpled into two separate pieces, "I have thunder, and wind. The wind being the less dominate of the two."

"Do you know how to train wind chakra?" Zev shook his head, "Really? Why didn't you learn that?"

"It's just a clan thing, everyone in the clan focuses on the thunder part of our kekkei genkai."

Osona grabbed a leaf, and she handed it to Zev, "Here, try to cut this with you chakra," Zev held it in his hand, in a second the leaf burst. Osona said, "That wasn't how you were supposed to do it…."

Zev let the pieces in his hand fall, "I gathered that…. Wait this gave me an idea…," Zev ran off into the woods before Osona could say anything. She picked up her book and continued reading while she waited for the others.

It seemed like a short time until the others got there, but that was because Osona was too focused on her book. In fact she jumped up when Utsuha said hello. "Oh, it's just you don't creep up on me like that," Utsuha was about to say something and decided not to, "Where's Zev he was here about a half-hour ago."

"Right here," Zev said from behind her, "I wanted to try something."

"Well Zev," she said handing him her bag with all her ninja tools, "Why don't you teach them," and then she returned to her reading.

"Teach us what?" Leta asked.

"Chakra control," Zev said, and he dug out the special papers, "here," he said and he handed them each one, "expose your chakra to these, they're special papers that do certain things when exposed to different chakra. Lighting, it crumples. Earth, it turns to dust. Fire, it burns up. Wind, it splits in two. Water, it gets wet," he took out a piece for himself, and showed them, his crumpled, and split in two. "I have an elemental kekkei genkai, which means I have two chakras. You both have kekkei genkai, but they're visual jutsus. That means you don't get the bonus of a second chakra," he watched Utsuha expose his chakra to the paper, it burned, "Fire," Zev said, "I believe that's usual for an Uchiha." Then he watched Leta perform the same thing, it crumpled, "Lightning, like mine," Zev said.

"Wait, you had two though, wind and lightning," Utsuha said, more of question then a statement.

"Although I have two chakras one takes precedence over the other," Zev explained. "Alright, time to explain the exercise." Zev walked over to a tree and began to walk up it. "You need to bring your chakra to the soles of your feet. This is fairly difficult, as you need to be very precise with your chakra."

"Why?" Utsuha asked.

"You'll find out," Zev pulled out two kunais, "make a mark at your highest point," Zev said, as he dropped down to the ground below, he sat next to Osona. "Osona-sensei," he said as he watched Utsuha make the same mistake he did his first try, which was using too much chakra, and the surface's own energy repelling him, "Do you know how to train fire-type chakra?" she shook her head, "I guess I'm going to have to find that out," he watched as Utsuha made a second mistake, not using enough, He fell back and hit his head on the ground. Zev looked at Leta; she was standing there, with her foot on the tree. Zev guessed that she was trying to figure out just how much chakra she needed.

Zev sighed; Leta would never get higher if she never failed. He walked over to her, "Leta, don't be afraid to fail, someone who never failed has never tried anything new," Leta nodded and tried to take her first step. Not enough, she fell backwards. Zev caught her and said, "Try again," she did, she didn't have enough chakra again. Zev caught her and told her to try again. They repeated this process several times till finally she got it.

Utsuha, who had finally got a good grasp on it, looked at Leta, _Yea, sure help her but not me, _he mentally scolded himself and ran up the tree, _Well, she did need the help,_ he looked at the marks on the tree that he made while running up, _I'm already improving, without help, _he heard Leta fall, he looked back; she had gotten excited and lost her grip. He laughed, and proceeded to lose his own grip.

"You need to stay focused to be able to do this, once you really get the hang of it. You can let your mind wander, it becomes part of you muscle memory," Zev told them both as they lay there on the ground. He walked back to the spot Osona was reading and sat down. He watched them practice the technique. Utsuha was doing very well, while Leta needed some help. He watched Leta more than Utsuha.

"How do you think they're doing?" Osona asked.

"Utsuha is doing great. Leta still needs a while to practice, but I think she'll get the hang of it eventually," almost as if she tried to prove Zev right, Leta ran up the tree and made it and another two feet above her last attempt. Zev looked at Osona, "Why did you never teach them this before?"

She set down her book, "I actually can't do it that well; you know about the keirakukei, correct?"

Zev nodded, "That's the network inside the body that carries chakra, almost like how veins carry blood."

"Then you also know about the tenketsu?"

"Yea, in theory if you can accurately hit them, you can either halt or increase the target's chakra."

"Well, I half the normal amount," She shrugged, "I don't know why, but a member of the Hyuga clan told me that."

"Can you do it at all?"

"Yes, but my chakra flows differently then theirs," she nodded in the direction of Leta, and Utsuha, "I don't know how to teach it to them."

"I see," Zev said he looked at Leta and Utsuha. They still had a long way to go. Zev looked at Osona, she had already returned to her book. "By the way, you read the book a lot, what's it about?"

"It's a romance novel."

"Oh." Zev said suddenly indifferent. He heard Osona laugh; she figured that he didn't like romance that much. He looked back to the others. Leta had stopped learning in leaps and bounds, while Utsuha was getting cocky. He could keep focused enough to stand. He was doing some dance on the tree. Leta stopped to watch him, she laughed. Zev wasn't amused. Leta stopped laughing when Utsuha lost concentration on his chakra. He fell, and hit his head on the ground. Zev walked over and stood over him.

"I made it half way to the top!" Utsuha said, smiling.

"Great, now get to the top." Zev said and walked away. Utsuha groaned as he looked up to the top of the tree. Leta looked to the top of her tree. She had a long way to go.

She stopped Zev on his way back to the spot he had been sitting, "Um… Zev…. Can you give me a hint?"

Zev smiled and nodded, "It takes mental energy to focus, generate, and manipulate chakra, so if you get all stressed out there's no way you can do it. Take it easy and relax."

"But… if we use this in a fight, wouldn't it be hard to relax?"

Zev shook his head, "If you stress out in a fight, you've probably already lost the fight. So, in fact, it's necessary to relax during fights. Anything else you need answered?" She shook her head, and Zev walked back and sat down. He saw Leta stand for a moment and focus, she ran up the tree and made a full ten feet over her last mark.

When she got back down Utsuha said, "Wow," and he clapped twice.

"Great job, Leta!" Zev said to her. She smiled. She played with a rock at her feet and muttered a thanks, and ran back up the tree. She made it another foot. Zev continued to watch their progress. Leta made another half foot to two feet every time after. Utsuha was slacking off at the base of the tree, _At this rate Leta will surpass Utsuha,_ Zev thought. He asked Osona, "Are you going to take someone out to eat after this?"

"I probably should take you out, since you taught them, and I guess I should take one of them too," she sighed, "You know, things were a lot easier before you came along, I only had to take one person out, and I never heard the others complain about getting left behind. Now, I nearly have to take you and one of the others out, and when I take Leta with, I always hear it from Utsuha about it not being fair with you on the team." she sighed again. "I suppose you should check to see who's farther, I take the one farthest up out to eat. It's going to be dark soon."

Zev ran up a tree in between Leta's and Utsuha's. Leta had surpassed Utsuha by a half foot. Zev jumped down. He landed next to Utsuha, who jumped when Zev landed. "Leta surpassed Utsuha, while Utsuha was slacking off."

Osona clapped her book shut, "Well, I guess Zev and Leta get to go out tonight." Utsuha walked off with his head hanging. Osona walked next to Zev, who had his hands behind his head, Leta walked behind them. She was looking at her hands. Zev looked back and stopped waiting for Leta to catch up.

"You did great today Leta," Zev said when she caught up, "Think you can do just as well tomorrow?"

Leta said looking at her hands, "I hope so."

"I know you will," he said.


	12. Chapter 12 More Chakra Control

Author's notes; Just a few things I'd like to say, someone recently posted that Zev shouldn't be anywhere near Hoakge level. In a way he isn't. Zev's energy gets drained quickly, but for a few moments in a fight he could give a Hokage quite a work out. Just something That i thought should be made clear. Also, Zev's _not _a chuunin or joinin because it's sort of against the rules in his clan, Lobo let that happen to try and get Zev locked out of his village, for all the good it did him.

Disclaimer;  I do not own Naruto, if i did, well...

Chapter 12 More Chakra Control

The next day, Zev showed up a half hour early to practice what he attempted yesterday. He found an empty clearing. He held his hands out at shoulder length. He let his chakra jump between his hands, since his main chakra was lightning type, it appeared as lightning. He poured more chakra into his hands, more lighting appeared. He kept pouring chakra into his hands until it looked like just a stream of lightning, He moved his hands like he was forming a ball out of clay, eventually he felt the chakra in his stop jumping he dropped the ball and kicked it with his foot. It hit a tree branch and exploded. The branch came crashing to the ground, _I have it, but I just need to speed it up, _Zev thought. He was about to try again this time faster, when he heard Utsuha.  
"Was that you?" He yelled.

"Yea, I'm trying to develop a new technique. What are you doing here?"

"I'm training; you want to see my progress?" Zev went along he was amazed at how much he had been training. There was at least an extra twenty feet from where he was yesterday. He could even finish climbing the tree today. Zev sat on a branch near where Utsuha had his last highest point. He watched Utsuha run up and make it to the exact same point, several times. Zev jumped down, after Utsuha made it to the same point.

When he landed, he landed right in front of Leta, who jumped and fell backwards, "Sorry Leta, I didn't mean to scare you," he helped her up, "what are you doing here, don't you have like fifteen more minutes?"

"Well… I… um… came to train on my own," she said fiddling with her fingers.

"That's good," Zev said, "Where's Osona-sensei? Normally she's about a half hour early."

"She was checking something this morning," Utsuha said from above, "She said she was going to be late."

"Utsuha, a bit of advice on your chakra control, Leta you should listen too, to focus your chakra correctly you need to get a sense of how much you need, the reason why trees are used for this exercise, is that it's possible to sense the necessary amount of chakra in it. The reason is because it's alive. Almost every living thing has chakra; some jutsus allow you to take the chakra from living things. More often than not, these are forbidden," Zev paused for a moment trying to think of anything else that needed to be explained, "Do you need any questions answered?" the others shook their heads, and ran up the trees.

Zev grabbed a leaf, _Well, while they're training their chakra control, maybe I can practice controlling my wind chakra, _Zev tried to cut the leaf, like Osona explained. In a few seconds it burst. He tried again, it burst again. He tried, and burst the leaves several more times. It wasn't long till he had made quite a pile of leaves, _Maybe I should try to separate my chakra, try to see how each bit responds then try, _He tested many different ways, none of which seemed to get the right result he needed. Zev decided to try something, He sent a bit of chakra to his hand, he held it to keep it from jumping, but tried to let his other chakra jump to it. After a few seconds of feeling nothing, his chakra suddenly started jumping to his hand. After a short while, the remainder of his chakra stopped jumping to his hand.

He cupped his hands and tried to force that chakra into the smallest amount of balls possible. Even with all the force he applied, there were fifteen small balls. He noticed they were a deeper shade of blue. Zev put them on the inside pocket of his vest.

He pulled out a piece of paper to see if he had rid himself of lightning type chakra. He sent his chakra through to the paper, and it split in two. Zev felt a little tired but kept himself awake, he grabbed a leaf of a tree, and started trying to cut it.

It wasn't until Osona got there, that he managed a small cut. Osona took a look at Zev to see what he was doing. Zev kept trying without noticing her. He felt like if he broke it into fields and pressed them against each other it cut a little better. He decided to drop trying to figure it out other ways, and keep with that. It wasn't long till he was able to cut the leaf in half, "Great job, Zev, now you should practice on something a little bigger."

Zev shook his head, "I need to get this perfected before I move on." Zev grabbed another leaf, and proceeded to cut it after much difficulty. He grabbed another and did it again. He continued practicing for a while, as Osona read her book. Occasionally Osona looked up to see Leta's and Utsuha's progress. She saw Leta walk up to the tree and put her hand on it.

_What is she doing? _Osona wondered. She watched Leta run up the tree. She decided to follow her to see how high she went. She was surprised to see Leta make it to the top. "Wow, Leta! What was it you did when you put your hand on the tree?"

"Well… Zev said that since its living, we could sense how much energy we needed. I decided to ask it."

"Ask it? Did it answer?" she said joking

"Yes it did." Leta said.

"I don't know how to respond to that…," Osona admitted. She heard Utsuha shouting over a ways. She looked over to see him celebrating that he too, made it to the top, "Great now we can move on to the second exercise," she said, as she dropped down. She found Zev standing.

"I was about to go see how you were doing," Zev said, "Did you both make it to the top?"

Utsuha gave a very loud, "Yes!" shouting at the top of his lungs

"Good, now that you got easy part done, we can move on to the difficult stuff."

Osona asked Zev, "Did you get the wind chakra control down to your satisfaction?"

Zev grabbed a leaf and cut it immediately, "Yea, sure, I got it down well enough."

"Good, then I know just the perfect spot."

Everyone followed Osona. She led them to a clearing next to a cliff. A waterfall came down from the cliff, the water flowed out in a river back into the woods. Osona stepped out onto the river. Zev noticed she had her feet a few inches below the surface. He stepped out onto the water, "Zev, I'll teach the water walking exercise."

"Is the reason you're a few inches below the water because of the keirakukei?"

She nodded, "Yes, but it lets me do things others can't. I'll show you later. First I have to tell you what to do for the next wind exercise, and I have to explain to the others the water walking exercise," Zev nodded as she explained the water walking exercise.

"In order to walk on water you need to constantly emit a set amount of chakra from you feet. You need to constantly alter this amount to allow your body to float."

"It's a whole lot harder than just maintaining your chakra like the tree climbing exercise," Zev added at the end, "First you gather your chakra to the soles of your feet, and then while you continuously emit a set amount you fine tune it to your body weight."

Osona nodded and turned to Zev, "Meet me at the waterfall," Then she went off. Zev noticed she seemed to skate along the water rather than run. He got to the waterfall first, because she skated off and played around on the water. When she got to water fall Zev laughed, "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I just remembered, you were in my bingo book."

"Really what threat level was I?"

"You weren't"

"What!"

"You always made sure the environment was in your favor, you'd create a large puddle that you'd skate around in. Against my clan, that would be a grievous error. We'd just send our lightning jutsus through the water. So in my bingo book, you were actually less of a threat than a genin."

Osona shifted uncomfortably. Zev figured she had never thought about that and that worried her, "Well let's get started on the exercise. For this you need to split the waterfall," Zev looked up at the waterfall, "It's probably going to be very difficult but hopefully in the next day or so, you should get it." She kept to herself, _Most people don't get this part in years, but he did get the first part done._

Osona skated off, and left Zev to do the exercise. Zev sighed, he held up his hand towards the water fall, he sent his chakra towards the waterfall. He was slightly rewarded by a small hole in the waterfall. _This is going to take a while, _he thought.

Leta and Utsuha were having enough problems with the water walking exercise. Neither of them could get the correct amount. Leta looked over to Zev, and saw him staring at the waterfall. She looked down to the water when Zev turned to look at them. She noticed she noticed a fish in the water below her. She decided to try something; she put her hand under the water, and sent her chakra though the water to the fish. _How much of this do I need?_

She got a thought back from the fish, _Not enough… Much more._

She decided to send another thought, _Can you tell me how much the man over by the water fall uses? _The fish swam towards Zev, _I wonder if it understands what I'm talking about._

Leta saw Zev look down at the fish swimming by him, he watched it come back to Leta, and she stuck her hand in the water and sent her chakra to the fish, _Schools more. _

_How many?_

_Twenty schools of your small fish, _and it swam off.

_Twenty schools meaning schools of fish, I wonder how many fish would be in it. Probably a least a hundred, _Leta guessed the rest and stuck her foot out on the water and slipped, she fell back on the shore and hit her head, "Ouch!" she yelled. Utsuha laughed.

"I think you used too much Leta," Osona said as she skated by. Zev stood by Leta and held out his hand. She took it and helped her up. She hadn't noticed him when he walked back to the shore.

"Did you talk to a fish to see how much chakra I used?" she nodded and looked at her hand, Zev was still holding it, "Wow, I've heard of people doing that but I never could. Apparently, either you can or you can't do it," he let go of her hand, if he had held on to her hand consciously she didn't know, "I use a lot more chakra than you need, I'm heavier than you are, also I carry more weapons on me at all times." Leta didn't say that she carried no weapons at all, "But now you know why people prefer to not use enough chakra as compared to too much." Zev started walking out to the waterfall, "By the way, that's quite a talent you have."

"Um… Zev? Can you carry me out to center of the river?"

"Why?" he asked turning.

"I want to… try to figure out how little I need compared to you." Zev carried her out. She placed a foot on the water, and slipped. Zev caught her before she completely fell under. Zev helped her up again, and she tried to step on the water. Her foot fell through the surface. She tired again and had the same result she had the first time. She repeated this process until she was able to stand a little on the water. She sunk down a bit but she was able to walk a little, "I think… that I can take it from here." Leta said. Upset that she had to let go of Zev.

Zev nodded and looked down; he saw a current forcing dirt to go up the side of rock. _I got it!_ Zev thought. He ran back towards the waterfall. He forced his chakra to go up the rock face behind it. The water parted. Osona skated over to watch Zev, _Alright, let's see what I can do, _Zev forced a large amount of chakra to go up the rock face. He forced the waterfall to fall up.

"I may not be a wind type, but I'm pretty sure that's not how you're supposed to do it." Osona said as Zev let the water come crashing back down.

Zev shrugged, and he did it again without the help from the rock face. He drove a wedge through the water with his chakra, forcing it to flow the same way it flowed with the rock face. It worked. Zev looked back at Osona and smiled, "Well, looks like I've finished. I'm pretty sure I'm good enough now."

"You mean you aren't going to perfect it?"

Zev put his hand in the water, "I'm pretty sure I got it good enough," he said and he parted the level water. Osona began to feel the pull of the water towards the gap. She jumped back.

_He's really something! Most people don't get this far in a year! Then again, he's already perfected his control over lightning, so maybe it's not that hard of a step for him, _Zev let the water close back in the gap, "I think we should call it a day soon. Let's check on the others see how far they got."

They went back over to the others, Leta had learned a little on how to skate like Osona. Utsuha had the basic understanding of water walking. Occasionally he'd fall back under with one leg. Which freaked him out, but he managed to get back up every time. Utsuha took another step. He fell under. He started screaming, "Utsuha," Zev started, Utsuha couldn't hear him because of his own screaming, "Utsuha," he still didn't hear him, "Utsuha stand up!" Zev shouted. Utsuha stopped struggling to look at Zev. He felt his feet touch bottom.

"Oh…." He said as he got back up on the water. Leta noticed Zev was watching. She took a step and stood on the water. Zev couldn't tell if she had the same problem as Utsuha, falling down every once in a while. Leta answered his question by failing almost immediately. Zev helped her up, she was soaking wet.

"Well, I think for tonight I'll bring Utsuha out to eat," Utsuha ran back onto the shore as soon as he knew that he didn't have to be near water.

"Wait, so what does that give me?" Zev asked pointing at the waterfall.

"Well, you're not the one who can't swim," Osona said, "It's much harder for Utsuha to learn this than it is for you to learn wind chakra use."

"She probably is just trying to avoid paying for two people," Zev said real quiet so only Leta could hear him as he dried her out using his chakra. Leta giggled a little.

Osona ignored Leta's giggle, "So, Utsuha, what do you say we go?"

Utsuha went off and followed Osona.

"Well, we should get going as well," Zev said


	13. Chapter 13 The next mission

Author notes: Well, I decided since there are + Thirty chapters to start posting two chapters a week.

INSERT DISCLAIMER HERE

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Chapter 13 The Next Mission

The next day, Zev showed up early for training. No one was there. Today's training was at the same spot as yesterday. Zev shrugged and decided to try to perfect the technique he'd been working with. He held out his hands at shoulder width. He sent out his chakra to his hands and let it jump between them. He used his lightning chakra to create the ball. It wasn't as slow as before, but it was still to slow. Zev kicked the ball away. It impacted on the water and made a large explosion. Zev looked at his hands, _What happens if I mix my two chakra's outside my body? _He poured into his left hand lightning chakra, and he poured his wind chakra into his right hand. He clapped them together he felt a rush as the two chakras merged. He felt his hands being forced apart, _Shit! I have to let it go!_ He threw his hands forward and opened them. A white tornado shot across the river. Zev closed his eyes trying to keep the force directly ahead, instead of letting it lash out in all directions.

When he opened his eyes, water was flowing into a huge hole in front of him. "Wow…," he said looking at his hands, "I was able to do that. Maybe I shouldn't use so much chakra next time…." After a moment of indecision, about two seconds, he decided to try again, he thought about the result he wanted, _If I can focus that force into the palm of my hand, and ball it. That should make a force that I was looking for in the lightning ball I was working on, _he did the same thing as before except with much less chakra. He grabbed his right arm. He felt his chakra run up it to his hand where it mingled with his wind chakra. He forced it into a ball. He looked at the ball in the palm of his hand. It was a white glowing orb; the edges around it seemed to be black.

He looked around for a target, he couldn't find one suitable. He decided to test it on the water in front of him. He put the orb into the water, and released it. The resulting wind storm threw him back against a tree. He felt water spray against his face. He looked at the river, it was nearly dry. The water flowing from the waterfall began to fill it up again, _Maybe I still used too much chakra, _he thought and passed out.

When he woke up Leta was kneeling right next to him. Osona was standing on the other side, and Utsuha was throwing rocks in the river, "What happened here?" Osona asked. Zev tried to sit up but Leta held him down, he felt sore and decided it was not worth the effort to try and resist Leta.

"I tried to mix my chakras, merging wind and lightning, my first attempt is that huge gash across the ground there, where there's water now that wasn't there yesterday. I tried again, using less chakra. That threw me against the tree," Zev said.

"Leta, you and Utsuha start perfecting your water walking, Zev will be fine," Leta nodded slowly and got up. Zev sat there while they were practicing, "You shouldn't have tried to do what you did," Osona said.

"I think I used too much chakra both times. Just a little would have been enough."

"How long were you bringing your chakra to the points you used?"

"The fist time, maybe a minute, the second time, I think about maybe thirty seconds."

"Wow…."

"That's what I said," Then he fell asleep again.

Zev was again in between the cages. He immediately ignored Lobo, and looked towards Zev's cage. The wolf appeared. "So, you mastered _fuubakun no jutsu_, although you poured more chakra into it than necessary," he chuckled, "Of course that's why you didn't need hand signs. More or less it exploded out of you. Next time you'll know the hand signs," he paused than said, "You're going to have to wake up soon, or Leta's going to get scared for you. I just wanted to tell you the name of the jutsu you just performed, and that you should try mixing your chakra's in different ways."

Zev said, "I should wake up now." The wolf nodded, and Zev felt himself drift back to reality, _Fuubakun no jutsu, _Zev thought, _I never heard of it before in my clan. I wonder why? _Zev sat up. Leta was skating on the water like Osona, Utsuha, was walking normally. He didn't look comfortable, "Osona-sensei, you know that Utsuha doesn't know how to swim. Shouldn't you teach him that?"

"I talked with his parents, they're teaching him now," Zev shrugged, "Did you know about what would happen when you mixed your chakras like that?"

Zev shook his head, "No, if fact I never heard of anyone mixing chakra types in my clan like that before."

"That's strange. Most of the time clans make a record of their jutsus."

"We do, in fact, I've read it myself. It makes no mention of jutsus using wind type chakra. That's why we never focused on wind chakra training," Zev and Osona returned to watching the others practice water walking. Zev heard a noise coming from behind him; he reached for a kunai knife, and prepped himself to throw it. He was surprised to find it was Sakura, Leta's old sensei.

"Osona, they're here. You should come back to the village."

Osona nodded, "Leta! Utsuha! Come here it's time to go back to the village!"

The others came running, and Zev stood up. He followed Osona and Sakura. It took a while to get back because Sakura and Osona were walking, instead of running, as they were talking. Zev caught bits and pieces of their conversation. He heard something about ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sand, an injury, and that they had been attacked.

When they got to the town hall, he saw three ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sand. One of them looked like he had gotten beaten badly He was having his chest wrapped, by a Kunochi. He had short brown hair. Another shinobi was unconscious, he wore a black long sleeved shirt, and he wore black pants, also hair was jet black. Osona told them to stay there, and wait for her. He and Utsuha walked over to the sand ninja being bandaged, "What happened to you?"

The sand ninja said, "We were attacked while escorting a man who was looking into the alliance between the other villages, and- AH! Not so hard Sashii!" the Kunochi that Zev now knew as Sashii was bandaging the wounded ninja. "And on our way here," the ninja continued, "this man, he was entirely covered up in bandages, attacked us. Sashii ran with the man we were escorting, while my brother and I fought. He did some jutsu; I took the brunt of the blast."

Sashii finished bandaging the wounded Ninja and looked at Zev, "Are you the ones taking over escorting the man? If you are watch out, you can see what he did to Sahlhi," she said, pointing at the man she just bandaged. She had blond wavy hair, and wore a tan shirt, and a grey skirt. Her forehead protector was wrapped around her thigh. On her back was a large gold disk. She also had a large pack that she carried. It had two folding shuriken strapped to it.

Utsuha thought, _Wow, she's beautiful!_

Leta walked over to Sahlhi, "Um… I'm studying to be a medical ninja, do you mind… if I take a look?" he shrugged; Leta began trying to see what hurt and what the cause was.

"Leta, why don't you see if he's got any fractures?" Zev spoke up.

"How?" she asked

"Did you forget? Use Byakugan."

"Oh, right…" she used it and gasped, "He's got fractures all over!" she saw factures covering his arms and legs, there were quite a few on his ribs too. She noticed he had a gold aura, like Utsuha. Leta ran and got a full medic to come over. She pointed out were she saw fractures. The medic called for some help, and they took him. Leta figured she should look at his brother too. He had no fractures. "Why does Sahlhi have lots of fractures, when he has none?" she said pointing at the unconscious man. She noticed that like his brother his aura was gold.

"I don't know," Sashii said she ran her hand through her hair, "When we met up, he was carrying Sahlhi. He said he had saved his life twice, then he passed out, he still hasn't woken up."

"How long ago was that?" Leta didn't face Sashii, but Zev guessed she was looking at her through her Byakugan. Leta was looking at Sashii; she had a gold aura as well.

"About a day," Sashii said, "he should have woken up by now, but every one who looks at him says he's just sleeping."

Utsuha smacked the unconscious man, who woke up and shouted, "Hey! What was that for?"

"He's up," He said.

Zev sighed, "Sorry about that…."

"It's okay, at least he's up," Sashii said laughing a little, "Saken, you've unconscious for twenty-four hours."

"I feel like I could use some more sleep," he said yawning, "Where are we?"

"You're in Konohagakure, Village Hidden in the Leaves. You were attacked by some individual who was covered by bandages, do you remember that?" Zev asked.

He went wide eyed and shouted, "Shit! Where's Sahlhi!" he jumped up and started shaking Sashii, "Where's Sahlhi!"

Zev grabbed Saken, "Relax!" he shouted, "You're brother is being taken care of he has a lot of fractures, but he'll be alright."

Saken sat down and put his hands on his head, "It was horrible, I've never seen a shinobi that could beat us so easily."

_I wish you could see us fight, _Utsuha thought confidently.

"He kept jumping into puddles on the ground, Sahlhi tried to cover them up, but he would pop out some where else. Each time he blasted us with a vortex of water, I was totally helpless. Before we tried to run, he appeared out of nowhere and shot a dragon made out of water at us. Sahlhi took the entire blow, and saved me. He told me to run. I couldn't just leave him there to die, so I tried to get him out. I'm sorry Sashii; I had to let it out…."

"It's okay; you were trying to save his life…."

"What scares me the most is, that it did almost nothing! I got one gash into him, and he blew me away. He did another one of those dragon missiles, but instead of one, he did two. One went for me, the other went to Sahlhi. Sahlhi used his sand to cover me. He didn't have enough for himself. I pretended to be dead, and I think he believed it. I found Sahlhi and ran."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" Zev asked

"The man, I don't know, some sort of monster."

"No, I meant what you said, by I let it out?"

"Saken has a three tailed jackal in him. It used to be five tailed, but it gave two of its tails in a trade with Saken, or rather Saken's parents. It begged to be let into the body of a human, so that it could survive. He said, with his help, Saken might become one of the most powerful ninja around."

"I wonder what he was trying to avoid," Zev wondered aloud, when Osona came back with a young man.

"Where's Sahlhi?" the Man asked. He wore a brown shirt with a bag with two notebooks, and several pens, and pencils in it. He wore a grey pair of pants that were very dirty around the hems.

"The medic corps took him," Utsuha said, "He should be alright under their care."

"That's good," the man said, "I was worried for him," he looked at Leta, than Utsuha, and then Zev, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't think we've met, my name is Zev."

"You look very familiar…," the man said, "My name is Zeroun."

"Zeroun, this is Leta," Zev said motioning towards Leta, "and this is Utsuha." Zev motioned towards him, "I'm guessing we're escorting you somewhere"

Osona nodded, "Yes, we're taking him to the Village hidden in the mist," Osona said, "That's our next mission."


	14. Chapter 14 Assassin!

Author notes & disclaimer; look at thirteen for it.

Chapter 14 Assassin!

They had walked along the river to get closer to the ocean, and then they'd follow along the coast till they got to the great Naruto Bridge. Once they were in the land of waves, Zeroun would get a boat to the village hidden in the mist. About a five day journey. The first day they would have to camp along the river. Second day would get them to the shore. Third and fourth would be along the shore line. By the fifth day they would be in the land of waves.

The first night they camped in a cave far away from the water. Zev kept watch through the night. He didn't go to sleep. That morning Leta had found a lake. They stopped by the lake to refill on water, because it was closer to the cave. "I don't remember this lake being here." Osona said.

"Well last night it was dark when we got to the cave. Maybe you just missed it." Utsuha said.

"I didn't mean I don't remember seeing it last night, I don't remember seeing it on a map."

"Well, it is a small lake." Utsuha said. He looked over and saw Zev standing near the shore with Zeroun. Zeroun was refilling his water bottle.

"That's strange," Zeroun said, "this water feels heavy."

Suddenly, someone ran out of the trees and attacked Zeroun. Zev pulled out his sword, and blocked the attacker. The attacker was covered in bandages, and used a sword with no hand guard. It was a thick blade. He wore his forehead that bore the symbol of hiding in the mist; across his eyes. It was crossed out with an X. It was thanks to Jada's good work on the sword that the force from the attacker's sword didn't break Zev's. Zev was holding the sword with one hand on the handle, and his other hand on the dull side of the blade.

That attacker kicked Zev into the water, and turned to face Osona, "Who are you!" she shouted.

"My name is Khalon, not that you need to remember it." He said as he charged Osona, "Because you're about to die!" Osona felt the blood lust radiating from this… creature…and was afraid. Not for her, but for her students, they weren't ready for this.

Suddenly, several Senbon shot out of the water. Khalon swung his sword and blew them away. Zev walked out of the water. The water felt much heavier than normal. "Fine then," Khalon said as he created a clone out water, "I guess I'll just have to imprison you," the clone threw his sword at Zev. Zev ducked. Then the clone ran up and kicked Zev, who fell into the water. The real Khalon stuck his hand in the water, "water prison jutsu," then Zev suddenly was trapped in the lake Khalon slid into the middle of the lake. Then his clone did another jutsu, _kirigakure no jutsu_. A thick mist went out from the lake he had made. No one could see anything.  
"Leta, Utsuha, take Zeroun and run! We can't beat this guy!" Osona shouted

"But- but- but what about Zev?" Leta asked.

"We have to leave him!"

"But…he wouldn't leave us!"

"We don't have a choice, move it!"

"As much as this conversation is thrilling," Osona heard Khalon say, "I need to kill the man, so if you would," Osona ran in front of Zeroun.

"We have to get out of here!"

"Hey! What's that?" Utsuha shouted. Osona looked out towards the lake. She saw a bright light out there.

She heard Zev shout underwater, "_Fuubakun no jutsu!_"the resulting wind blast blew the mist clear, and freed Zev from the water prison. Osona saw the water clone right in her face. She saw a bright flash of light and the clone fell into a puddle of water. Zev was standing right next to her with his sword right where the clone was, "Are you alright?" he asked over the thunder. Osona nodded very slowly, very confused. Zev turned back to were the real Khalon was. He held out his left hand, and shouted, "_Chidorian!"_ his hand suddenly was surrounded by lightning. She saw another flash of light, and heard thunder. She saw Zev punch Khalon.

Khalon instead of flying off, like he should have, burst into a puddle. _He switched himself with a water clone? _Osona thought. She saw Khalon jump at Zev from behind. There was another flash of light, and thunder. Zev was behind Khalon. Zev went for the midsection with his sword. He felt resistance, a metal plate.

_That's why he wears bandages, he's hiding the fact he's got metal plates under them! _Zev thought. Khalon swung at Zev with his own sword and Zev ducked. The Sword buried it self in the ground, and Khalon used it to kick Zev away by pushing off of it. He pulled it out and threw it at Zev. Zev rolled, barely getting away. He looked up, the sword was headed straight for Leta, "Shit!" he got up, and tried to muster another _Relatzer no jutsu _when Utsuha grabbed the sword out of the air. Zev sighed a sigh of relief.  
"No time for breathing easy," Khalon said right behind Zev. He threw a punch at Zev. Zev grabbed it pinned it between his leg and arm and jumped. When he landed Khalon was on the ground with him. Zev jumped over Khalon's back still holding onto his arm. He was rewarded with a sickening crack as he heard bones breaking. Then he immediately felt stupid as Khalon splashed into a puddle.

_Damn it! _Zev thought, _If he keeps playing with me like this I'll reach my limit! _Zev took the moment that Khalon was scared to show himself, or was making another water clone, to get to Osona and the others, "If I keep going like this I'm going to reach my limit! I've wasted too much."

Leta reached into her pocket and pulled out several blue balls,

"Do… do you think these will help?" Zev grabbed them and popped them into his mouth.

"For the moment, at least," Zev said as the energy rushed through him. Zev looked around for a sign of Khalon. He heard a splash beneath him, he looked down. There was a puddle there, "Get away from the puddles!" He shouted, almost too late, Khalon jumped out. Utsuha used the sword he'd grabbed earlier to slash him across the midsection. Khalon made another puddle, "Leta, use your byakugan!" Zev ordered.

"Rr…right," Leta said, as she activated byakugan. She looked around, she saw Khalon coming from another puddle farther off. He'd jump in one and pop out of an adjacent one, "He's coming!" she shouted. Zev got an idea. He stuck his hand in the water.

"Tell me when he's in one of the puddles!" he ordered.

"Now!" Leta shouted.

Zev shouted back, _"Chidorian!"_ lightning jumped out of all the puddles, and Khalon was thrown out of one. This time he didn't just burst into water, he hit the ground solid. Zev ran at him shouting _"Chidorian!"_ When he got to Khalon he blasted him. There was a perfect imprint of Khalon in the ground.

He sat down there was no way he could be conscious of taking two focused chidorians. Osona walked up, "Is he…?"

"Dead? No." Zev said shaking his head, "now if you excuse me I'm going to pass out now," and he did just that.

When Zev woke up it was dark, he had a blanket over him and he was in a shelter. He looked to his right and saw Leta asleep, "How long was I out?" He wondered aloud. Leta stirred, he looked over and she sat up, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He said. He sat up, "You can go back to sleep, its okay," He threw the blanket that he was using over her, and crawled out.

"Oh, you're up," Osona said, "Here have something to eat," she extended a bowl of some sort of soup. "Leta came out to cook and eat occasionally, but mostly stayed in there with you since we got here."

Zev took the bowl and started eating, "How long was I out?"

"Almost all of the day, Zeroun is sleeping in another shelter that's hidden," she said, "We dragged Khalon for a while decided it wasn't worth the effort, we sent Utsuha back to the village to grab some help."

"Speaking of which, where is the pain in the neck."

"Look up." Zev did, Khalon was hanging still in his bandages from a tree. "He's awake. I think." Zev went back to eating, "Someone's going to have to keep an eye on him during the night. We don't want him to escape."

"I'll do it," Zev said in between bites, "I don't need to sleep, although I do enjoy it."

"Okay then I'll go to sleep; you keep an eye on him," she crawled into the shelter, and Zev laid back and waited for dawn when Utsuha would come back, or at least if he didn't stay the night there.

Leta woke up and it was morning. Osona was sleeping next to her. She crawled out slowly as to avoid waking Osona. She walked out side and found Zev lying on his back and throwing pebbles at Khalon. "Um… are you sure you should be doing that? Isn't that a little mean?" she said softly.

"I think he slipped out of those bandages, he hadn't said a word all night," Zev said as he chucked another rock at him.

"A word," Khalon said.

"He's got a horrible sense of humor," Zev said to Leta.

"Two ninja walk into a bar and the next one ducked," Zev chucked another rock at Khalon. This one was much larger than the pebbles.

"That wasn't much better."

"I'm going to find some food," she said, "Um… see you in a bit," Zev watched her walk off.

"Alright, Khalon, why did you attack Zeroun?"

"Because I was hired to."

"By who?" Zev asked, when he didn't get a response he asked again.

"I don't have to answer you," Khalon said.

"Fine, tell me this and I won't torture you, why is the symbol for the village hidden in the mist crossed out?"

"Because I left my village for better things." Khalon answered.

"So I bet that means there is a nice reward for your head," that did not bring about a response from Khalon, "Don't worry I won't kill you, we have people back at the village who will take nice care of you."

"That son of a bitch!" Zev heard a voice from behind him shout.

_That sounded like Saken, _Zev thought. Saken ran out of the woods, he tore Khalon down, and started beating on him, Utsuha and Sashii pulled Saken away. Utsuha had Khalon's sword strapped to his back.

"You son of a bitch! You know what you did to my brother! He won't be able to leave his bed for at least two months!"

"Well, sorry to hear that it's only two months," Khalon said laughing. He heard Zev shout something and saw the bright flash coming from his hand before everything went black.

Zev took his hand off of Khalon's face, "There, that should keep him quiet for a while. Why are you here?"

Utsuha smiled and said, "Well, I figured they'd like to help deal with Khalon, considering with Sahlhi injured and out because of him."

"Actually, I'm here to make sure Saken doesn't kill him before we get him back to the village," Sashii said pointing to her brother.

Osona crawled out of the shelter rubbing her eyes, "What's all the racket about?"

"Osona-sensei," Utsuha said, "I'm back!" he said, "I brought some help for Khalon."

"I see," she said, as a few more ninja walked towards the group, "Well can you keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep."

Zev resisted using _Relatzer no jutsu_ to make a thunderclap, "Yes sensei," he said instead, Osona nodded and went back into the shelter. He ordered the other ninja to carry Khalon out. He grabbed Saken by the arm, "Listen, you can't kill him, we need to extract as much info as possible, however if he tries something, I give you full permission to beat the shit out of him."

"I understand and thanks."

"Utsuha come over here," Utsuha walked over to Zev, "I want you to go with them; I want a pair of eyes and ears to go with them. It's not that I don't trust them; it's that I trust Saken to give Khalon a chance to escape so he can kill him. Stay at the village. We'll continue on with out you."

"Thanks," Utsuha said.

_Why did he say thanks? _Zev wondered, Utsuha ran up right next to Sashii, _Ah, I see…_

Leta returned after everyone had left, "Where's Khalon?" she asked.

"Utsuha came back; he took him back to the village, with some other ninja."

"Oh…. I had caught enough fish for every one," she held up a bunch of fish on a string, they were abnormally large. There were six fish.

"You caught one for Khalon too?" Zev asked.

"Well… I thought… that he would be hungry."

Zev laughed, "You're a lot nicer than me; I would have just given him some bread, if I was in a good mood."

"Well I…."

"It's okay," Zev interrupted, "it's just that, I wouldn't have thought of Khalon when gathering food," Leta tried to get a fire started; she couldn't get the wood to catch, "Here, let me help you with that," Zev said he sent a burst of his chakra into the wood and lit it, "How did you catch such large fish?" Zev asked.

"Well… I talked to them…..I told them I needed food for six people and these six jumped out of the river," she said as she started cooking the fish.

Zev sat down, "I guess after breakfast we'll get going again. I told Utsuha not to try to meet up with us," Leta didn't nod or anything but Zev could tell she was slightly worried, "We should be alright, the people who hired Khalon probably will think that he's still attempting the mission, until they hear otherwise," Leta sighed, "Something wrong?" Zev asked.

"No it's just that… I'm relieved to hear that."


	15. Chapter 15 Land of waves part 1

Chapter 15 Land of Waves; Coming

The next five days to the land of waves brought nothing new. When they arrived, Leta was surprised, "This place doesn't look like what my father described it as."

"Well, things have changed since the Hokage was here, the bridge named after him brought a lot of commerce in. Also with the death of Gatô at the hands of Zabuza, commerce once again came in through our ports," Zeroun explained, "Inari did a lot for the land, even when he was a small kid."

"I'm not so small anymore," Zev heard someone say, he turned to look in the direction it came from. The man was taller than Zev by a full head; he wore a rope around his head. He wore a black shirt that had an open front. It wasn't tied. Zev could see scars along his arms and his chest, "Long time no see, Zeroun."

"Inari! How's it been? How's the family?"

"We're all good. We've have a son now, we named him after Kaiza."

"That's your father's name… right?" Leta asked.

"Yes, who are you?"

Zev put a hand on Leta's shoulder, "This is Leta; she's the Hokage's daughter. But I think you know him as Naruto."

"Yes, you look like him; you both have those lines on your face," Leta put a hand on the mark on her arm.

"Thanks…," she said, Zev could tell she didn't mean it, but it came out like an automatic response.

_She probably doesn't like being compared to her father, _Zev thought, _I can understand why; from the very beginning he knew he was going to become Hokage, while she has very little self confidence. She probably feels like she has to be comparable to him, but she can't find any good parts that line up with him._

"The ninja from the mist are here to take you to their village, but I told them that you were going to spend the night here."

"That's good; I was hoping I'd get to spend the night in a nice bed."

"You and your escorts can stay the night at my place. My wife wouldn't like to know some ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves were here and staying the night at a hotel."

"Why's that?" Osona asked.

"Well, when she was little, a Kunochi from there gave her brother some candies when he was begging for food for them. That made a huge impact on them both. That was back when Gatô was around. Come on, I'll show you to my place."

Inari's home was a two level house but it still was quite small. Four bed rooms total, Zev and Zeroun were going to share a room. When they walked into the house Inari's wife was cooking supper. She wore a long black skirt, and a long sleeved shirt, she had her sleeves rolled up. Zev assumed by the size of the pot she was using that she expected company, "Welcome home Inari! I see you brought some guests."

"Yes, is that alright with you?"

"Of course, we always have enough for more!"

Zev was surprised that they were able to finish the entire stew, "My wife was always hungry during Gatô's time here, so she tries to make enough food that no one is hungry," Inari explained, "So, Zeroun, what brings you around here? I know that you're headed to the Village Hidden in the Mist, but besides that…."

"I'm sort of… documenting all the villages, and where they stand on the alliance with the village hidden in the rain. I'm thinking that soon, the ones who choose not to join, will be making one of there own, so far that would be the sand, and the leaf. Lobo, the one conducting it, seems to be a very great man." Osona and Leta both looked at Zev, who had his arms crossed, his eyes were yellow, "Did I say something…?" Zeroun asked very uncomfortably.

"Lobo is not a great man. He'd sell his friends for a loaf of bread if it brought him a profit."

"I talked to him personally, I agree with everything he said this alliance was for."

"What did he say?"

"I… can't… remember… but I know it was agreeable."

Zev decided not to argue as it was pointless, "I'm going for a walk, I'll be back soon," and he shut the door behind him.

Zeroun started digging in his bag, "I took notes when I was talking with him. I can't remember it though," Zeroun pulled out a small notebook, "Ah, here it is," he flipped to the page he was looking for, "What! What the heck was I thinking! None of this makes any sense!"

Leta activated her Byakugan, "I think… I might know why," she said, Zeroun had a grey aura, "I've noticed that when I see people through my byakugan that they have one of four auras, a gold, a grey, a blue, or a red. I think those who have a grey aura, are susceptible to influence of others, Zev has a blue aura, those who are around him often," she looked at Osona, who had a blue aura, "seem to get a blue aura as well. Those who are around Lobo, get a red aura like him."

"What do you think the gold auras are?"

"I… don't know…. Maybe they can influence others?" she said losing her confidence in her idea.

"Then I guess your father has a gold one then," Inari said. Leta looked at him; he had a very bright gold one.

"You have one," she said and stood up, "I think I'm going to go for a walk too."

Zev walked along the shore, he didn't understand why people thought Lobo was so great. He picked up a rock and threw it as far out as possible out into the ocean. He had seen Lobo perform forbidden jutsus in broad daylight and no one said anything, while Zev would get smacked for even thinking of learning a forbidden jutsu, "Damn him," he said aloud.

"Something bothering you?" he heard someone ask behind him, he turned. It was a Kunochi from the village hidden in the mist. She wore a grey poncho, underneath it she wore a grey shirt, and a grey pair of shorts. She wore her forehead protector around her neck.

"Nothing you can help with," He said turning back to the ocean. He continued walking along the ocean.

"I bet it has something to do with this alliance, doesn't it?" she said following them

"Maybe it does, what's your point?"

"I don't really have one. I guess it's just my ability working."

"Your ability?"

"Yes, I can sense different things, from what's bothering people, to being able to sense certain emotions. It gives me a superb edge in battle. It's strange though, looking at you, I see many things bothering you, from the alliance to family, to enemies, to friends."

"That's pretty good. You pretty much hit the nail on the head."

"I've never seen anyone like you before, well… no, I have seen one other person; he was like an exact opposite of you though. He wasn't worried about anything, but he was interested in how he could take advantage of everything."

"I think, we're thinking of the same person," Zev said.

"I doubt it; very few people have met him, only high ranking ninja."

"You're talking about Lobo Alcido of the Village Hidden in the Rain, correct?"

"You do know him! How?"

"He is the kind of person who'd sell his friends, kill them to ensure his own safety, even kill his brother to ensure he's the strongest."

"You definitely know him." She said smiling, "You got him pegged."

"He's my brother…," Zev picked up a rock and threw it.

"So that's the family, and the alliance. I wonder what worries you about enemies, and friends."

"I'm worried that my enemies will take after Lobo, and try to hurt the ones who are closest to me."

"That's strange," she said, "I sense two different parts, one is concerned with a particular person, the other follows exactly what you just said."

"You can see that deeply into me?"

She nodded, "The kinder a person is, the deeper I can see."

"I guess that means you're a kind person as well."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because kind people, can't understand what makes evil people, or how an evil person thinks. If anything those people's own kindness is their greatest weakness, they can't see that someone is entirely evil and cannot be changed. My name is Zev, what's yours?"

"My name is Keishin," she said, "as much as I hate it, I agree with you. I wish there was a way to remove all evil from this world."

"That's not a bad wish, but it's impossible. However," he turned to look at her smiling, "that won't stop me from protecting those I wish to protect. I will constantly protect them," He looked back and saw Leta following along far back; he waved for her to come closer.

Leta ran up, she was staying far back because she didn't want Zev to know she was following him. When she came up the girl next to Zev giggled, "It's late," she said, "I should get back now. Nice talking with you, I'll leave you two alone now," with that, she ran off.

"I wonder what that was about," Zev said aloud. He continued walking, "What are you doing out here?"

"Well… I decided to go for a walk," she said, she was fidgeting with her fingers as she walked with Zev. A wind from the ocean blew and Leta shivered.

"Here," Zev said taking off his vest, "It may not be that warm, but it should offer some protection against the cold."

"Don't you need it?"

"No, I came from the village hidden in the rain, I'm used to be soaking wet. This isn't bad." He put his vest over her shoulders, "Were you watching us with your byakugan?"

She was, "Yes," she said very quietly, "Are you mad?"

"No," Zev said, "I wanted to ask you if she had an aura."

"She had one like yours," Leta said, "I think that you give people a blue aura, while Lobo gives them a red aura."

They walked silently for a ways, then it started raining, "We should get you back to the house, you might catch a cold," when they got back to the house it was pouring.

"I… I think we shouldn't go in soaking wet," Leta said even though she knew they had too.

"Hang on to me really tight," Zev said as he started the jutsu he used to dry himself off. Leta grabbed him and he did the jutsu. Leta felt her skin tingle after the lightning strike. Zev held his vest over them both and opened the door.

"Oh there you two are!" Osona said as they walked in, "I was getting worried about you," she walked over and noticed they were almost totally dry, "How did you both not get soaked?"

"We did, I used one of my jutsus to dry us off," a young toddler came up to Leta. Leta picked him up. "Is that Kaiza?"

Osona nodded, "Yea, he sleeps during the day, and plays during the night." She said. Zev could tell she wasn't literal. She was probably repeating something Inari said.

Kaiza pointed out the window and said, "It's… waining."

"It's raining, yea," Leta said as she brought him closer to the window. Inari's wife came into the room.

"Kaiza, there you are," she took him away from Leta.

"It's… waining, momma," Kaiza said.

"Yes, it is." She said to Kaiza, "that's funny, normally he doesn't like strangers."

"Leta, I'm going to sleep tonight," Zev said as he cupped his hands and made the lightning balls, "Here," Zev handed the balls to her. Leta had taken over Emiko's job when Zev had entered the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Leta took them and she put them into a pocket. Zev went up the stairs into the room he was sharing with Zeroun.

Zeroun had gone to bed a while ago, and had taken the covers from both beds. Not like Zev cared, he was alright with out a cover, or a bed for that matter. Zev laid down on the ground, and let himself fall asleep.


	16. Chapter 16 Land of Waves part 2

Author's notes and Disclaimer: look at chapter 15

Chapter 16 Land of Waves; Going

Zev woke up during the night, "Here's the place," he heard some one say.

"Are you sure he's in there?" he heard a second voice ask.

"Yes, I'm positive, three ninja came in today with him."

"Should we take out the ninja first?" yet another voice asked.

"I doubt they're here." The first said, "Go look around for a way in, and set traps to prevent anyone from escaping."

Zev sighed, and go up he drew both his swords and unlocked a door and waited, it wasn't long till some one tried the door, "Score! This door's unlocked," the second voice said.

"What an idiot, leaving the door unlocked." The first One commented opening the door and feeling the edge of Zev's sword on his throat, "Oh, shit," he said backing up at Zev's urging.

"Mind telling me why you're sneaking into a house at this hour?" Zev asked, he noticed they wore the forehead protector of the village hidden in stone.

"We don't feel like telling you," the First said.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're not in a position to be acting on your feelings," Zev started charging the swords with his chakra.

"Oh, really?" the Man reached for his knives. Zev cut his head in two. The man dissipated into a pile of dust, "See? I told you a joinin was going to stay the night here!" he heard from above him Zev turned, the one who Zev had cut his head into two was above on the building, "Stick to the plan," the others dropped on their knees and made the same hand signs, they made at least twenty shadowy figures out of dust. Every second three more was made. The figures started attacking Zev. Zev cut one in two. He turned and cut another. One attacked from behind. It was cut as well. Another attacked. Zev cut it too.

Two attacked from the sides, Zev cut them both at once. Two attacked again. Again they were cut. Four attacked at once. Zev used the sword, charged with wind, to create a blade of wind that shredded them into pieces. Four attacked again. Zev used the other sword, charging it with lightning chakra, to send a slice of lightning at those figures; obliterating them. Eight attacked. Eight were cut. Sixteen attacked. Sixteen cut. Thirty two attacked. Sixteen were cut. Zev used _Relatzer no jutsu _to get around and cut the rest. Zev knocked the closest ninja out with a kick the head. A third of the figures dissipated.

"Damn it, he's beating them! Attack all at once go, go, go!" the one on the top of the building shouted. They sent all of the figures at Zev. Didn't know how many there were. All he knew was that two _Relatzer no Jutsu_s knocking out the ninja did the trick.

Meanwhile, Osona had just woken up at the first thunder clap. _Those lightning strikes were close._ She thought,_ Wait! _She sat up,_ It's not raining anymore! _She ran out side and found Zev tying up all the ninja.

"They're all yours, Osona-sensei. I'm going back to bed," Osona started after him and decided not to. She looked at the ninja in front of her and shook her head.

When Zev woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find that Osona was still wondering what to do with the ninja. She was having tea with Leta thinking about it. "Well, look who's up," Osona said when Zev came down the stairs.

"How long have I slept?" Zev asked stretching.

"Well, its eleven o'clock, and you got up and had your fun at about midnight, so about eleven plus hours."

Zev shrugged, "Did Zeroun leave already?"

Osona nodded, "Yes, we're leaving the land of waves today."

"Let's go now," Zev said, "I want to see how far they've gotten with Khalon."

"You're probably right," Osona said, "Leta, go tell Inari's wife that we're going." Leta got up and did as she was told, "Zev, did you talk to one of the mist ninja?"

"Yes, she said she had a talent, an ability to sense what people were feeling."

"She came by today."

"Yea, and?"

"Nothing, just wanted to let you know."

"Okay…," Zev didn't understand why she thought he needed to know that, "Did you decide what to do with the ninja, yet?"

"Not really, maybe we should just let them go."

"Well we can't drag them along on the way back, but are you sure we should just let them go?" there was a knock at the door, Zev opened the door; it was Keishin.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, "Do you still have those stone ninja?"

"Yes," Osona said from behind Zev, "but I thought you left."

"Well we were about to, I told my joinin about them and she thought it would be a good idea to bring them along to our village."

"Keishin, does the name Khalon mean anything to you?" Zev asked

"Yes, he tried a coup, and failed miserably, we haven't been able to find him," she walked in and grabbed the stone ninja, "I can see right through you, Zev, I know you have him captive at your village. Do with him as you wish, just make sure to bring his forehead protector back to our village. I'll be waiting."

"So, she really can see things in people…," Osona said as she walked out the door.

"She was on a roll when she was talking to me yesterday, she nailed everything."

Leta walked back in the room, "Um… she said that we should wait a bit more, just stay for lunch."

"Well, I wouldn't mind not having to forage for food," Osona said

"So, I'm guessing we're staying then?" Osona nodded, "Then I'm going to see off Zeroun," Zev said as he walked out the door. It didn't take Zev long to catch up to Keishin, she was dragging the ninjas, still tied up, on the ground. "Why did Khalon attempt a coup?"

"He wanted our village to join in the alliance; our kage is thinking that we shouldn't. Khalon didn't want to wait."

"So he's a recent missing-nin?"

"Yes, he was a joinin in our village. Who captured him?"

"I did. You couldn't tell?"

"No, I can sense things, but rarely can I see the whole picture. Are you a joinin, or chuunin?"

"Genin," Zev answered, "Until recently, I haven't even been allowed to try to progress through the ranks of ninja."

"Why?"

"Family issues, I guess you could say."

Then after a long time walking silently Keishin spoke up again, "How did you escape Lobo? Everyone there thought you died."

"I had some help. But basically I smeared by blood over my vest and forehead protector."

"I'm surprised Lobo bought that…."

"Well, an old friend, who now is an enemy, was with him, he was really impatient so he probably had a small hand in it even though he wasn't trying."

She smiled, "You're a lucky person," she said.

"You have no idea how unlucky I am," Zev said putting his hands behind his head.

"Really? Because the way I see it, you're better off in the village hidden in the leaves."

"Maybe," Zev said, "By the way, how much further is it to the boat,"

"Not too much farther." She said "It should be right around that corner." When they rounded the corner, Zev saw Zeroun talking to the boat captain. "Well, it was nice talking with you but I have to go now," she said smiling, as she ran up to the boat captain.

Zev turned back, and rounded the corner. As soon as he was out of Keishin's sight he ran back. When he got back Leta was helping Inari's wife set the table as Osona was reading her book, "Ah, good," Inari's wife said, "You're just in time for lunch."

After lunch, Leta, Osona, and Zev, left the Land of Waves. By nightfall they were almost half way back, with out anyone slowing them down, they made much better time. The next day, they were back in the village hidden in the leaves. Utsuha was waiting for them at the main gate, "Khalon hasn't given up anything useful," he said, "We can't think of anything to do with him," he led them to the town hall, "By the way, Zev, I hope you don't mind, but I allowed Saken and Sashii to use your apartment, they haven't actually used it though."

They walked into the town hall. Saken was pacing the floor, muttering death threats about Khalon, and Sashii was sitting watching Saken; concern evident on her face. "Where is Khalon?" Zev asked.

"Over here," Utsuha said, waving them over, "he's really tough he's hasn't given up anything," they walked into the room where Khalon was being kept. He was tied to a chair, and looked like he been through a lot. He no longer wore the bandages, or the metal plates underneath. His eyes reveled that he was blind.

"Go ahead kill me, see what I care," Khalon said.

"Utsuha, get everyone out of the room, and make sure no one gets in." Utsuha compiled. Zev pulled up a chair and sat across from Khalon.

Five minutes later, and five minutes of hellish screams, Zev walked out, "He's ready to talk," he said


	17. Chapter 17 Two weeks

Author's notes Sorry about a late update, I was sort of busy yesterday... anyways enjoy.

Discalimer: I wish I owned Naruto.I don't. And that makes me sad...

Chapter 17 Two weeks 

Saken walked up to Zev, "What did you do to him?" he looked scared. Zev looked at some of the others around him, they also looked scared.

"In my clan, torture is something you **_must_** learn. The kind I learned uses genjutsu, illusions, to attack the mind. As much as I hated learning it, I was the best." Zev looked down, "It's not something I'm proud of…. That's why I never use it in battle."

A lot of the people who gathered hearing Khalon screaming backed away, until it was just the sand ninja, and Zev's squad. Saken looked behind Zev to see Khalon; he did not look good. "Serves him right." he said as he walked away.

"Ah, good you're all here." Zev heard a voice say, "I need to speak to all of you, believe it!" Leta turned to face her father, as did everyone else, "The chuunin exams are coming up for the second time this year, they're being held in the sand village. Fortunately because of the Alliance, and where Sand and Leaf stand on it, our countries are closer together and we can do this. Zev has the capability to be a joinin, problem is we need to get all the formalities out if the way. The real problem, though, is that Lobo is probably going to go through it as well, or he'll have allies in it," He turned to face the sand ninja, "This is where you come in; Zev is going to pretend to be a ninja from the sand village, Shinri. Shinri is an orphan specializing in taijutsu with swords. It doesn't matter what squad he's on, you can switch it up. You got two weeks to train."

Saken and Sashii walked up to Zev, "So, Shinri, ready to train?" Saken asked.

Zev nodded, "Let's get started," and they left.

"Father… what…what about me, and Utsuha? Are we… going to participate?"

He shook his head, "No, you need to train more. Utsuha isn't even at a quarter of his full strength. Niku, the one who would go with you, I doubt would be able to make up for that."

"I think Utsuha can do very well." Osona said, "He's trained with Zev almost every day that he could," she put a hand on Leta's shoulder, "and Leta has progressed just as well."

"Fine," he sighed, "If Leta can see the tenketsu, and if Utsuha can use the sharingan, by the end of the two weeks, I'll let them go."

Osona's grip tightened on Leta's shoulder, _What! That's going to be near impossible! They can't learn that quickly! _but she nodded and agreed.

Saken led the way to where they were going to train. He stopped at a clearing near the river. "I think this is going to be a good spot," he said turning around, "How good are you at swords?"

Zev pulled them out, "Not as good as I should be." Zev admitted.

"Alright, then I'll give you something to train with." He made hand signs, put his hands on his chest with his arms folded and put them on the ground, "_Kotsujin no jutsu!"_ he shouted. Six skeletons pulled themselves out of the ground. They had swords made out of bones, "These guys will help. They're clones" Saken said, "This jutsu uses all of my knowledge, that I wish to use, and pours it into them."

"This won't help me." Zev said as he easily cut them down, "Clones aren't that bright, so it won't help much," He charged the swords with his chakra anyways.

Saken laughed, the skeletons got up again, "This doesn't work that way; they won't stop until I order them to, or give them a point which to stop. They also use my own knowledge to fight." Zev immediately found himself on the defensive.

_Wow, these clones are actually good!_ Zev thought, _Not like any clones I've seen before, _Saken watched Zev practice, "By the way," Zev started while fending off attacks from the skeletons, "what are your skills?"

Sashii answered first, "I have a lot of great ninjutsu, and also I can fly with this gold disk," the gold disk suddenly spread out large purple wings that wrapped around Sashii, "Most of my jutsus are wind based."

Then Saken spoke, "I have a few strong jutsus as well as a many weaker ones. I have quite a few summoning jutsus. I can summon snakes, frogs, insects, and hail storms. I have a darkness genjutsu, I have this cloning jutsu," he said pointing at the clones Zev was fighting, "and I have the jackal demon, Anupu. What are your skills?"

"I have a kekkei genkai, I'm experimenting adding my wind chakra to it," he stopped talking long enough to slash the skeletons, he ran off giving him some distance, "and as you can guess, some sword skills." Zev brought the swords together, blocking an attack from the skeletons, when he pushed back, a whirlwind exploded from his swords. He blew the skeletons away, "Well," he started, sitting down, "at least now I can take a break for a while."

"How did you make that whirlwind?" Sashii asked.

"I don't know, I'm guessing it happened when I brought the swords together, mixing my chakra. That wind wouldn't blow a normal person away, but the skeletons are probably less than a quarter of a human's weight."

"Yes, that's one of the biggest disadvantages," Saken said as he made the hand signs to the jutsu, "The other is if the parts get to far separated from each other they can't reform," he grabbed his head, as if he had a migraine.

"What's wrong?" Zev asked.

"Nothing, it just that when I undo these clones, I get the knowledge they learned, or rather, the experience."

"I see so since they were practicing swords…."

"I can now use a sword at the level they all achieved as a group. Just give me a minute; I'll set up another set of clones."

Leta, after her father and Osona's discussion, went to her cousins for help, "Please," she said kneeling down in front of them, "I need to learn to see the Tenketsu!"

"Leta, seeing the Tenketsu isn't something you can just learn; it takes skill to see them…." the older one said, He looked just like how Neji looked back when he was angry at the main branch. Neji since then has changed, especially after Leta's father became hokage. His name was Riyoku.

"But I need to in order to participate in the Chuunin exam!"

"Leta," the other said, she was a Kunochi, who wore all white, and even her vest was white. She had lots of weapon scrolls in her vest, "You can't just go into the Chuunin exam because you can see the Tenketsu…," her name was Kashiko.

"That was the deal with my father, if I can see the Tenketsu, and Utsuha can use his sharingan, we can enter the Chuunin exams. He won't let us other wise!" she felt horrible, if her cousins didn't help her she would drag everyone down.

"Fine," Riyoku said, "I'll help a little. Activate your byakugan, Leta did so, "Do you see the keirakukei?" Leta nodded, she could see the lines of it along his body, He pointed at a spot on his arm, "Look very closely here, you should see a tiny dot," Leta stared long and hard, but she couldn't see it. She shifted her gaze to about an inch to the right and she could see it.

"You're an inch off…. I think," she said.

"No I'm not," he said shifting, now his arm fit the spot where Leta thought it was, "This is the exact spot," he said pointing again.

"Um… can you move your arm again? Please?" Leta asked, she noticed that the Keirakukei seemed to move before Riyoku did.

"Why did you ask him to move his arm?"

"Well… uh… it looks like his Keirakukei moves before he actually does."

Kashiko activated her byakugan, "Move your arm." She ordered, he complied, "I'm not seeing it, and I'm much more advanced than you."

Leta took the comment, but she could still see the Keirakukei move before Riyoku did, "Uh… I have another question for you. When you look at people with you're byakugan, do you see an aura around them?"

"An aura? Are you talking about the chakra hold in the center of the body?"

"No… it's around the body, I see four types, gold, blue, red, and grey."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, maybe the Byakugan is mutating in the main branch."

"No," Riyoku said, shaking his head, "No one else has had something like this, maybe it's just Leta."

Utsuha ran to his father to ask for help with his Sharingan, "Oh, so you're interested in the Sharingan?" Saskue said.

"Yes, I need to learn how to use it to enter the chuunin exams."

"Well it's something you need to learn on you own. I got it out of a need. Let me think," he stopped and looked down at the ground for a moment, "I was trying to see everything, trying to look through a jutsu, so try to see through people's jutsus watch them practice. Maybe you'll get somewhere."

_I know just who to watch,_ Utsuha thought as he ran out of the house, _Where's Zev training?_ he wondered.

It didn't take him long to find Zev. He was near where the skeletons crashed from the whirlwind that Zev accidentally unleashed. Utsuha figured out where they came from. He saw Sashii with her purple wings, and Zev looked like he was taking a break. It wasn't long till he realized this was going to be harder than he thought. It took a lot of energy to keep his focus on Zev and Saken, instead of Sashii.

Sashii kept herself wrapped in her wings, "Zev, what do you know about Utsuha?"

"Well, I know he can't use sharingan yet. I don't think he panics easily. He tries hard, even if it's impossible. Actually I think he doesn't believe in impossible. And he's watching us."

Saken laughed, "He was following Sashii all the time, when you guys were gone. That reminds me, who took down Khalon?"

"I did." Zev said.

"Was it difficult?"

"Yes, but mostly because of my own limit, I had some help from Utsuha and Leta."

"Isn't that sword Utsuha carries Khalon's?" Zev nodded, "How'd he get it."

"Khalon threw the sword at me, I ducked and it headed straight towards Leta, Utsuha grabbed it." Zev explained, "I'm surprised, he didn't panic during the attack. Saken, do you think you can muster some more clones?" Saken nodded.

He made hand signs again, put his hands on his chest with his arms folded and put them on the ground, "_Kotsujin no jutsu!"_ He shouted just like last time. Six skeletons popped out of the ground. They had their bone swords, and they didn't waste time using them.

Zev got an idea, _"Kage bushin no Jutsu!" _Zev shouted as he made six shadow clones. Each had two swords.

"I'm not going to let you get off that easy." Saken said, he performed _Kotsujin no jutsu_ again, and created six more skeleton clones. Utsuha tried to see through the Jutsu through out the training session.

After fifteen minutes of fighting one of the clones was defeated. Zev grabbed his head, he felt a pulse in his head and all the experience the clone had learned pounded into him. Zev got an idea; he created two more clones, one to take the place of the clone, the other to take his own place, "Shouldn't you be training too?" Sashii asked, as Zev left the clones to train.

"Look who's talking. I think that shadow clones are like Saken skeleton clones, in that, they send back the info they learned to me," he said as the clones started fighting.

Utsuha began to see something, _I can see it, just a little but I can see it! _He could see an aura around the clones indicating to him that they were indeed clones and not the real thing.

It took along time, but eventually the clones were defeated, "Those skeletons," Zev started rubbing his temples, "are very persistent."

"They don't stop." Saken said, "they don't know how to, unless I show them," Saken performed the jutsu signs again, and the skeletons turned into dust. He felt like he had a headache as well, "I think we did enough for today let's go back into the village, maybe grab a quick bite to eat."

Sashii folded her wings into the disk. "Alright," Zev said, "that sounds good."

Utsuha saw Sashii put away her wings, _They must be finishing training for today, _He thought, _I should go find someone else to watch, _Utsuha thought as he ran off.

Leta walked out of the clan compound. She felt totally lost. She could see things that the others couldn't, and it scared her. She didn't know who she could talk to. She felt very alone. She walked staring at the ground; she wasn't aware of the vendors along the streets saying, 'There goes the honorable daughter of the Hokage,' or any of the other things they said about her.

It wasn't long till she was back on the face of the third hokage on the mountain. She went her often when she felt alone, which was very often. She looked down on the village, _All those people, _she thought, _and none of them are like me._

Utsuha went around looking for people training, he bumped into Osona accidentally, "Utsuha, have you seen Leta? I wanted to talk to her; I just finished talking with Riyoku and Kashiko-"

"Riyoku and Kashiko? Who's that?"

"Her cousins, but have you seen her? I can't find her."

"No, but I'll keep my eyes open, I'll tell Zev too. I mean Shinri."

"Alright thanks," Osona said and she ran off. Utsuha went to all the training areas nearby, none were in use. Mostly everyone was on missions. Utsuha walked near a ramen shop were Zev, Saken, and Sashii were.

"Zev, I mean … Shinri! Have you see Leta?"

"No I haven't," Zev said turning, "Why?"

"Well, Osona's looking for her and she said she can't find her anywhere. I've been around too, I can't find her." then he added, "Nor anyone else for that matter."

Zev sighed and stood up, "I think I know where she is, I'll go see," Zev was out of there before Utsuha could say thanks.

Zev jumped down onto the face of the third Hokage. Leta was there like he thought she would be. She was crying very softly, "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure, I can see things the others in my clan can't…."

"Like?"

"Like the auras I see around people."

"Is that bad?"

"I can… see… how someone will move. To me… the keirakukei moves before they do."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"I'm a freak!" she said crying.

"Freak? Who told you that?" Zev said, slightly confused to why he felt himself getting angry.

"No one, but I know they think that."

"I don't," Zev said, "The way I see it, you just opened another part of your clan's kekkei genkai."

"Then why is no one else like me?"

"No one is like you, just like there's no one like Utsuha, nor is there anyone like Osona. We are all different, we may share certain qualities, but none of us are the same."

Leta felt better hearing that from Zev, but it wasn't what she was asking, "I meant why did no one in the clan have something like this before?"

"There's a first for everything, Leta, no one in my clan added wind into the kekkei genkai before," Leta sat there still crying. She leaned into Zev. He let her cry, "Osona's looking for you," he said after a while, "Do you want to go now?" Leta shook her head no, Zev started to get up.

"Please, don't go just yet," she asked him. He sat back down and Leta leaned into him again. Zev held her and sighed.

_Poor girl, she feels alone, _he thought, _I wish I knew how to cheer her up._

"_You're doing enough just being there," _Zev heard the voice he'd grown accustomed to say, _"In fact, your probably doing more than you were talking to her, she knows your willing to listen, that's good enough."_

_Thanks_, Zev said to him.

About twenty minutes later, Osona jumped down next to them, "It took me long enough to find you, oh…," she stopped talking after seeing Leta. Leta sat up her eyes looked like she had been crying, "Uh… I'll check back later…."

"No it's…okay," Leta said standing up, "I'm alright now." Zev stood up as well; a piece of rock he stood on gave way. He fell quickly and couldn't get a grip on the rock face. "Zev!" Leta screamed, _This is all my fault! _Leta immediately blamed herself.

Osona slid down the rock face after Zev, but she couldn't reach him and had to stop her self.

Zev felt himself lose control of his body, _"Sorry, Zev, but I can't let you die just yet," _He heard Zev say inside him. Zev made him make some hand signs, "_Taifuutenshi_!" Zev heard himself shout.

Below him a giant, white wolf appeared, it had five tails. Zev landed on its back. The wolf jumped back up the faces, and let Zev fall back on the third's face. Leta was sobbing, and Osona was downcast. Zev landed on his feet making sure to have his chakra holding him in place.

Leta saw him and hugged him, Osona smiled and laughed. Zev felt like he was about to pass out.

Zev woke up in his apartment; Leta was right next to him, "He's awake!" she shouted, and Saken, Sashii, Osona, and Utsuha ran in.

"What happened?" Zev asked as he sat up, one of the first things he noticed was that his room was cleaned.

"Well, after how ever it was you survived, you fainted standing up. Fortunately, Leta was using her chakra control, and some how you were too." Osona explained.

"What was that you summoned?" Saken asked, "It looked like a wolf."

"_Taifuutenshi_," Zev muttered.

"What?" Osona exclaimed.

"I don't know that just popped into my head just now," he suddenly had a headache, "I'm not sure I was supposed to be able to do that."

"What make you say that?" Sashii asked.

"Because I feel totally drained, like I've reached my limit." Zev said as he lied back down, "I think my body moved on its own, I did the summoning, out of a need to live, and it brought me to my limit. Maybe it pushed me farther," he said.

"Maybe," Utsuha said, "you've been out for almost three days."

"Three days!" Zev shouted sitting up, quickly wishing he didn't, "Ouch," he said as he fell back down.

"Maybe… maybe you should rest a bit longer." Leta suggested. The others started leaving when Osona started pushing them out.

"You're probably right," Zev admitted, "Let's see if I built up any energy while I was out." Zev cupped his hands together, and attempted to make the chakra balls, but he couldn't do it, "That's strange normally my body builds up chakra even if I'm asleep or unconscious."

"Zev…just sleep, you need it." Leta put her hand on his head, "Please." she finished.

"Alright," Zev said, and he closed his eyes.

"Are you going to stay here with him?" Osona asked Leta.

She nodded, "It's my fault… he's exhausted, if I hadn't gone up there this wouldn't have happened," she started to cry again blaming herself.

Zev opened his eyes and looked at her, "It's not your fault Leta. It was my fault for being clumsy. Go on, I'll be all right," Leta nodded, and went out with Osona. Zev closed his eyes again, but it took him a long time before falling asleep again.

Zev woke up and Leta was sitting next to him. "I thought I told you to go."

"You've… been asleep for another three days."

"No wonder I'm so hungry," Zev said sitting up, "that means I have one more week to train for the chuunin exams," Zev stood up.

"Wait… are… are you sure you should be standing?"

"Yea, I feel great, stronger actually," Zev stretched, he found out his neck was sore, "My neck is a little sore though," he stated. He started to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Leta said, a little louder than she intended, She immediately looked at her feet when Zev turned, "Are… are… you sure you're alright?"

Zev put a hand on her shoulder; she looked at him, "I'm positive, don't worry so much alright?" Leta nodded. Zev walked out the door, "Come on, or are you going to stay there?" he said smiling. Leta ran out the door and Zev shut it. Zev stopped at the nearest ramen shop. He bought a meal for Leta as well. He didn't complain that she was tagging along for the day.

After eating Zev found Saken, and Sashii, "Well look who's up," Saken said. "Sleep well, Shinri?" he said trying to get used to calling him Shinri.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Zev said half jokingly, half serious, "you guys kept training right?" they both nodded, "Great, do you think you can set up the clones?" he said as he performed **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_**, creating six shadow clones.

He made hand signs, put his hands on his chest with his arms folded and put them on the ground, "_Kotsujin no jutsu!" _this time nine skeletons came out. Leta was scared of the skeletons for a second.

Zev smiled, "Trying to out do me, huh?" he performed the jutsu again, creating three more shadow clones. "Sashii, did you train?"

She nodded, "A little," she said, "it's kind of difficult though. Not many jutsus can hit me, and I can counter any weapon thrown at me."

Zev got an idea, "Let's try something, _Taustsujin no jutsu_!" he shouted, he made six cloud clones, six mist clones, and he did another**_ Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_**, "I think all these will be able to help you train," The clones rushed Sashii who extended her wings and took flight. She had to apply her self to avoid the onslaught of weapons that the clones threw.

Leta watched all of them train. She thought it would be a good idea to try to see the Tenketsu. She activated her byakugan, and watched. She could pinpoint a few of them but not all. She saw Saken wave over Zev. He had a chess board set out in front of him. Leta deactivated her Byakugan, and sat down next to Zev, "Chess, huh? Zev said, "I'll have you know I'm a pretty mean chess player," Leta watched Zev take Saken down in four moves, "Leta, you can do shadow clones as well right?" she nodded, "well, why don't you use it create two or three, and have them train against each other?"

Leta created two shadow clones; they activated their byakugans and sparred against each other. She watched Zev play another match against Saken. Five moves and Saken was defeated. Saken set it up again for another rematch. One of the Letas defeated the other; Leta got the pulse of experience that the clone learned, "Utsuha's nearby," she said.

"Bring him over Saken could probably use an easier opponent," Saken sighed, he didn't like it but it was true. Leta got up and brought him over, "Utsuha, are you any good at Chess?" Zev asked as he neared.

"No… but…."

"Good, Saken here needs someone to play."

"I need to train too; I have to learn how to use the Sharingan."

"I see," Zev said getting up, "Leta, do you want to try?" She didn't say anything but got up and sat down where Zev was sitting. "The Sharingan let's you mimic a jutsu, right?"

"Yes, it also lets me see through jutsus. I can do that a little already."

"Try mimicking this," Zev went through the motions of **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_**, he couldn't actually do it. _Taustsujin no jutsu _took a lot of energy as it was, let alone fifteen shadow clones. Zev felt like any second he would pass out. Utsuha mimicked the motions very well. After a time he got it down perfectly, "Good, now use it," Zev ordered.

"What? I just know the hand signs not the chakra patterns to use!"

"Try it, you can see a little right? Try to figure the rest out on your own."

"I'll try," He said, he tried and almost got it, it was a sorry excuse for a clone, but it was solid. He tried again, he made a horrible copy of himself, but it was a clone.

"Third time's the charm," Zev said. Utsuha attempted to do it again. He succeeded. He created a shadow clone. "Good, now you both can try to activate your sharingan," Zev looked to see Leta beating Saken with the same four moves that Zev did.

"Maybe I should try cards," Saken said as Leta set up the pieces again.

By the end of the day, the only one who was tired was Sashii and Zev. Utsuha eventually was able to create four shadow clones. Leta's limit on clones had turned from two to four. Zev's and Saken's sword skills increased tremendously. Zev's aim with other weapons increased slightly. They wrapped up for the day when it started raining. They all went out to eat. Osona joined them, "So, how was your day today?" she asked.

"Pretty good, I think I'm on the verge of seeing the Sharingan," Utsuha said.

"My sword skills have increased tremendously. I might be able to pass for someone who passively practiced with swords for a year or so." Zev said smiling.

"I think my skills…." Saken started.

"In chess have improved? Yea, you can manage not to get taken out by Leta in ten moves." Zev interrupted smiling. Saken couldn't come up with a comeback, "Leta can now make four shadow clones. So can Utsuha."

"Wow, that's a difficult jutsu," Osona started, "Most joinin can only create one."

"Zev can come up with fifteen," Sashii said.

"That's probably because somehow my kekkei genkai gets into it," he didn't say that it might be because he uses a demons chakra or maybe even two.

"Leta," Osona began asking, "Can you see the Tenketsu?"

"A little," she said.

"Maybe tomorrow you can create the clones and look at the others Tenketsu," Zev suggested.

Leta was about to agree when the food arrived, "Yes, the food's here!" Utsuha said almost shouting. The others watched Utsuha eat, while the plates were being passed around. By the time the last of the plates found their owner, Utsuha was finished.

Saken and Sashii were the ones first at the clearing. Saken brought cards this time, instead of chess. Zev and Leta came soon after. Utsuha was last; Osona had decided to come with him to watch all their progress. Osona sat down next to where Saken and Zev started playing cards, after creating clones to do the practicing.

Leta created her own clones to watch the others and try to focus on the Tenketsu. Utsuha created his own clones and tried to see through the others' jutsus. Sashii took the day off. "Isn't it funny how we use our clones to do all the work?" Saken said as he raised the bet for the jackpot, the loser in this game had to pay for dinner.

"Not really," Zev said, matching and raising the bet, "It just depends on what you're feeling."

"What do you mean?" Sashii asked, "I fold."

"Well, I want to be able to go through the Chuunin exams, but I have to do it as Shinri, who specializes in sword taijutsu. So the clones want to train with swords, not nearly as much they want to play cards," Zev began explaining as everyone folded except him and Saken. They showed each other their cards, "All Aces," Zev said laying them down. Saken was totally crushed, "So they're willing to let me play with you guys while they train. I won't try to understand the motivations of the others," Zev said as he handed out cards. After several rounds the pot was very big, Leta looked at Zev through her byakugan, she thought she saw signs of him bluffing.

"I'm in," she said, "I think you're bluffing," the others went all in as well.

"So you think I'm bluffing?" Zev laughed, but Leta heard nervousness in his voice, "This is your last chance, I'll let you keep your chips if you fold now."

Leta saw Osona making motions not to do it, "I…I… I…guess I'll fold," she said looking at her hands and taking back her chips, none of the others did.

"Royal flush." Zev said. The others groaned. "So, who pays?" Zev asked smiling.

"I think we're going to have do another round," Saken said, "With out you two!" He said pointing at them. Zev laughed and stood up, "Zev… I thought you were bluffing…," Leta said.

"I know, I tried to make you think I was. I purposely acted a certain way to make you think I was," Zev said smiling. Leta sighed.

"Maybe byakugan isn't so fool proof," Leta said, she felt stupid, trusting in the byakugan.

"No, it's just that I like to break fool proof things, my clan was very good at breaking Uchihas because we have so many kekkei genkai moves that they couldn't copy us." Zev said laughing. They both turned when they heard Saken screaming, He fell backwards with his hands covering his face. "I'm guessing he's buying, what do you say we go easy on the guy?" before Leta said yes Zev said, "Yea, stupid idea what was I thinking," he looked at her to see a very confused look on her face, "It was a joke," Zev explained. Leta looked back to Saken. Zev didn't think she would intentionally buy the more expensive stuff, just to tease Saken. She was too nice.

Leta undid the **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_** just to see how far she had progressed. She smiled and did the jutsu, "I can see them better now," she said to Zev. She looked up to see Utsuha shouting.

"I did it!" he shouted doing cartwheels, she saw that his eyes were sharingan.

"Leta, how well can you see the Tenketsu?" Zev asked.

"Not very, but I'm sure I can hit the ones I can," she saw Sashii ask Utsuha something, Utsuha nodded and smiled. She walked over to Zev.

"I guess I lost the bet, huh?" Zev asked her.

"Yep, pay up," Zev sighed and pulled out quite a bit of money.

"What was the bet?" Leta asked.

"Zev here bet that you'd be able to see the Tenketsu before Utsuha got control of his Sharingan."

"I can! Just… not… well…," Leta said, sad to make Zev lose.

"It's okay," Zev said as Sashii walked off, "Chances are she's going to go double or nothing."

Sashii walked back, "How about this, we go double or nothing, if you can hit me within the next hour, you win."

"Alright," Zev said, "Shake on it?" Sashii took his hand and shook it. Zev smiled Sashii tired to get away, she screamed. Zev flicked her softly. "I got you! Pay up."

"I thought you were really going to hit me!" Sashii said as she reluctantly gave Zev his money.

"I would have if you had gotten away there," Zev turned to Leta, "See? It all turned out all right," Leta smiled. Utsuha jumped when thunder boomed and it started raining.

Everyone undid their clones and ran back to the village to get something to eat on Saken's tab.

They all decided on a steak house. When they sat down Osona made a suggestion, "How about, tomorrow we do one of my exercises? Like the tag one?"

Utsuha cheered, "Who do you think should wear the vest?"

"How about Shinri?" Saken suggested, "I don't know what were talking about here, but Shinri would be a challenge."

"Okay, I'll split you into two teams, Saken and Sashii on one, Utsuha and Leta on the other. And Zev,"

"Yes?"

"You can use your kekkei genkai," Zev smiled one wicked smile, "We'll use the whole village as the arena," Osona said, "Meet up at the clearing to prepare,"

Zev was prepped and ready long before the others. When everyone got there Zev commented, "This vest feels heavier than normal."

"It is, I made it just so that way we can slow you down a little," she pulled out two powders, "I also made these special. Since everyone uses clones, this powder also goes onto the jutsus. Red team is Saken and Utsuha. Blue is Sashii and Leta. Give Zev five minutes to get into the village," Zev ran off rather slowly it seemed, "Five minutes, five seconds, what's the difference?" she said smiling, after Zev got to the tree line.

Everyone ran after Zev, at the rate Zev was running they should have been able to catch up to him in no time, "Four minutes fifty-five seconds," Zev said behind Osona, "That's the difference between five minutes and five seconds," she turned back and smiled.

"Did you send shadow clones into the village?" She asked. Zev nodded, "This is going to be interesting…," She said looking back.

Saken saw a movement to his right, he thought it was Zev and chased after. Utsuha and Sashii saw movement ahead of them and chased after. Leta saw a movement to her right, but instead of chasing after, she used her byakugan. She didn't see an aura around the clone she saw. She made four shadow clones and sent them in all directions.

Saken got tired of chasing the shadow ahead of him, and he used _Kotsujin no jutsu _and created skeleton clones that were all red, _So that's what she meant by the powder going onto the Jutsus. _Saken thought, as the skeletons chased after Zev.

Sashii took a chance to get air borne and flew into the air. She could see Zev running on the ground ahead. _Why hasn't he used his Kekkei Genkai? _she wondered. She formed hand signs, "_Kazehane no Jutsu_!" she shouted, and she swept her arm out. The wind stream that emanated from her hand was blue, just when it was about to touch Zev she saw a bright flash of light and Zev disappeared; there was also a clap of thunder. _Where'd he go?_

After a moment, Utsuha convinced himself to get out to of the tree._ I'm getting nowhere,_ he thought and he made four shadow clones, _If I spread them out, I should be able to find him quicker. _

Saken performed several of his summoning Jutsus. First he summoned frogs, than snakes, then insects. He had them spread out around the village, _If he tries to get out they'll find him, _He thought. He went into the village himself to find Zev; the skeleton clones were looking around as well. Most people avoided them, while a few of the braver people got closer. He saw Utsuha run around a couple times, he was glad Utsuha was on his team; they both could do cloning jutsus and cover more ground. He grabbed Utsuha, "Utsuha you take the west half, and I'll take the east half." Utsuha nodded and disappeared, _He was a shadow clone? _Saken thought.

Utsuha got the pulse as the clone gave the info to him; he created another shadow clone to take the place of the one that just disappeared. Both he and the clone ran to the west half of the village. The other clones were probably already searching that area.

Meanwhile, Sashii was already looking at the village below. She saw several Zevs. All of them were running around randomly it looked like. She decided to try and get the one who was running the least. She landed right in front of him, he turned back. She chased after him. He turned a corner, she followed. He was gone.

"I just threw Sashii for a loop," Zev said.

"I wonder how long till they figure out you're using shadow clones."

"Leta will probably figure it out first," Zev said, "How long until you cut it short?"

"Probably around noon," Osona answered.

Around eleven forty-five, Sashii, Utsuha, and Saken lowered the total number of Zevs to four, although Zev could make more if he wanted to. Sashii chased Zev down an alley; Saken and Utsuha were on the other side, "Ha! Got you now!" Utsuha shouted, pointing at Zev.

"Yes you have, but there's one tiny problem."

"What's that?" Zev undid his jutsu, "It was a shadow clone!" Utsuha yelled as the clone disappeared. Saken ran off one way, and Utsuha ran off the other way. Sashii took to the sky. Sashii saw Zev walking down the street after searching for a while. She landed in front and did one of her favorite jutsus.

"_Kazekan no jutsu!" _She shouted trapping Zev in a whirlwind. When the whirlwind faded Zev's vest was totally blue. He shrugged and undid the jutsu.

Zev laughed, "I wish you could have seen Sashii's face!" he said to Osona. Zev heard a movement behind him. He turned just in time to see Leta trying to touch his back with the powder. "Nice try, but I still have all my _Relatzer no jutsus_," he said and disappeared in a flash of light and a clap of thunder. A few seconds later Zev came back. Before Osona said anything he said, "Clone, don't try to touch me. I'm just here to know when Osona calls it off," Leta looking through her Byakugan knew he wasn't lying.

Osona sighed, "Well there's still about ten minutes before noon, but I guess I'll finish it now," The Zev in front of her nodded, and undid the jutsu.

Meanwhile a Zev who was trapped at a wall by Saken smiled, "Game over I win. Osona just called it off," he said and undid the jutsu. Saken found Utsuha and informed him, who in turn, informed Sashii.

They all met up at the clearing, Zev was waiting, and Leta looked a little upset. She walked up to Sashii, "I'm sorry I tried to get him."

"It's okay at least you knew he never left. I've been running around all day trying to grab him."

Osona cleared her throat, "I'm going to have to take Zev out to eat, but I'm also going to take Leta and Sashii out too."

"What!" Utsuha shouted, "Why them?"

"Because Leta figured out Zev never left, and Sashii was on the same team as Leta."

Utsuha groaned, and Saken muttered something about the exercise, "Well, what are we waiting for?" Sashii asked cheerfully.

The next morning Osona decided to pit everyone against each other, except for Zev who she ordered to practice on his own to be fair. Utsuha wore the vest. The first thing he did was made four shadow clones, and ran. Osona handed out the powders. Saken was red, Leta was blue. Osona made a special powder for Sashii which was yellow, "Five minutes, five seconds, what's the difference between the two?" Zev said as he made fourteen clones to practice against each other.

"Four minutes fifty-five seconds." Osona said back. Zev sighed and shook his head. Five minutes later Osona let the others chase Utsuha. Saken performed the summoning technique for a swarm of insects, which he sent towards the village. He then performed the frog summoning, and the snake summoning, which he ordered to go into the forest in case Utsuha learned a thing from Zev.

Zev hadn't seen the summoning yesterday and was surprised; they were at least twenty frogs about half way up his knee, and at least forty snakes about his arm length long.

Sashii took to the sky. Leta went after Utsuha, using Byakugan to avoid wasting any energy chasing after the clones. Leta stopped and used the **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_** to cover more ground.

That after noon, Utsuha came back covered in blue, red, and yellow. Yellow was all over the vest, red covered the same amount of area blue did over yellow. Utsuha looked very tired, "Say who won so I can go sleep." Utsuha pleaded with Osona.

"Well, Sashii obviously got you, but I think I should take you out too. You look like you earned it." Utsuha cheered. Zev undid his clone jutsu and learned all the experience his clones gained for the day. Saken asked if Leta and Zev wanted to eat with him. Zev agreed, and Leta agreed soon after.


	18. Chapter 18 Early Arrival

Author's notes: Nothing really,

Discalimer: look at chapter 17

Chapter 18 Early Departure

That night Saken paid a visit to Zev. It was especially early, but Zev was up as he had decided to spend the night awake. Zev let Saken into his apartment; Saken couldn't help but notice the mess it was, "Didn't Leta clean your apartment when you were asleep?"  
"It doesn't take long for this place to become a mess. What is it?"

"I thought it would be a good idea for you to spend a while in the sand village before the chuunin exams," Saken paused and continued, "That way, you can come up with some disguise so when you're going through the chuunin exams people won't recognize you. Also, I think Leta draws a lot of her strength from you. You two will be against each other during this; I think she needs to learn how to stand on her own two feet."

Zev nodded slowly, "You right, I'm ready to go now." Saken walked out.

"Make sure you're ready in ten minutes, meet us at the hospital." Zev turned and looked through the things in his vest, a few poisons, nothing people would be suspicious of, and some money. Zev decided to drop the poisons. He didn't want any thing to link him to the village hidden in the leaves. Not that these poisons would lead to that, he just didn't want to leave any room for error. He looked up and sighed, this would be the first time leaving the village without Leta or Utsuha, since he left with Emiko, and Yukio.

He punched the wall; the wall didn't give, unlike the one in the apartment back in the village hidden in the rain. He decided it would be okay if he went to the hospital early.

He waited inside. He saw Sashii walk in, he looked at the clock. She still had five minutes. She saw him and walked over, "What are you doing here?"

"Saken suggested we leave for you village tonight, that way I can use the days there to come up with a disguise for Shinri. I came by a little early, I don't know why he chose here the gate would have done just fine."

She made a motion for him to follow her, he was a little confused but he followed. She stopped in front of a room, "He's been like this since we got here," she said folding her arms and leaning against the wall, she sighed. Zev felt like he could feel concern and worry coming from her.

Zev looked in the room he saw Saken sitting next to Sahlhi, "I'm sorry, this is all my fault," Saken said, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be stuck here for another month."

"It's not your fault…," Sahlhi started.

"It's entirely my fault, if I had left with Sashii, you wouldn't have tried to cover all the puddles with sand. If I had left, you wouldn't have tried to take that dragon. If I hadn't of stayed, you wouldn't have used your sand to cover me!" Saken shouted, as he stood up and ranted.

Zev looked back at Sashii, she looked sad. He leaned back against the wall. He could guess why Sashii was sad, "You're sad because your friend, and teammate, is suffering and you don't know how to help, right?" she nodded biting her lip, "I know the feeling," he said, sighing.

Saken came out into the hospital lobby fifteen minutes later. He didn't say anything, nor did any of the others. They walked out of the village silently. Saken was worried about his little brother. Sashii was worried about Saken, and Zev was worried about Leta. They walked until the sun came up. They ran for the rest of the day, Zev didn't feel the fatigue that came with the running, like the others, and he pushed them.

By night fall of the second day they had arrived at the village hidden in the sand. Zev looked around, there seemed to be much more night life compared to the village hidden in the leaves. "Here it's almost unbearably hot during the day; normally you try to stay inside as much as possible during the day." Sashii explained to Zev. It was the first time any of them had spoken since supper, which they ate while running.

Saken continued walking, Sashii told Zev to follow them. He followed them to a mansion. Saken walked in, and Sashii and Zev followed. Zev saw a man who wore dark robes, and had a gourd on his back. When he turned to face Saken, Zev saw he had dark circles all around his eyes, like he never slept, and he also had the kanji for love tattooed on his forehead. He grabbed Saken's hand, "It's good to see you, Saken, I haven't heard from you in a while."

Saken nodded, "I've been staying in the village hidden in the leaves, Sahlhi was injured on his last mission, and it will be at least another month 'till he can get out of his bed."

The man slowly nodded his head, "I heard from Naruto," he said, and then he looked at Zev, "so this is the man who got away from Lobo. It's Shinri for the time correct?"

Zev nodded, "Yes, Kazekage, sir, but I'm thinking I should call myself Tengin for now, to throw off any other suspicions. Or would you prefer Garra?"

He nodded, "Garra works just fine. You all are early, by the way."

Saken spoke up, "Yes, I figured Shinri, I mean… Tengin should get a chance to come up with a disguise before the exams."

Sashii turned to Zev, "I know a place you can stay," she said, "You can stay at my family's house," Zev nodded. "So, I'll see you tomorrow than, Saken?"

Saken nodded, "Me and my father here need to catch up a little," he said putting a hand on Garra's shoulder. Sashii turned to walk out, Zev followed.

"You didn't seem too surprised that Saken is the son of the Kazekage." Sashii said when they were out of the mansion.

"No, what surprised me was Garra's attitude. From the stories I heard of him, he's cold, cruel, and pretty much heartless."

"Yes, the Hokage had a major hand in that. He pretty much beat some sense in him."

"There's no currency difference here from the village hidden in the leaves, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"I brought my own money along; can you meet me here in about twenty minutes?"

"Of course," she said, "In the mean time I'll tell my parents that someone's visiting."

Twenty minutes later, Sashii was waiting for Zev. She looked around, then at a nearby clock, and around again, _Where'd he go? I hope he hasn't gotten lost already._

"I'm guessing you don't recognize me," she heard someone who sounded like Zev say. She turned around, the speaker had brown hair, a dark cloak with an open front, he wore a tan shirt, and pants with a belt. His shoes were the same dark color of the cloak. He also had a bag over his shoulder. He didn't have a forehead protector.

"No sorry I don't," she said, when the man grabbed her, "Let go of me," she said angrily.

"Sashii, it's me, Tengin," her mouthed dropped open, "I guess this will work for a disguise," he said laughing.

"You look nothing like you. Saken won't recognize you."

"Neither did you," he said, "So, where do you live?" Sashii lead the way.

"I'm not too far from here," she said. After a very short walk they arrived at Sashii's, it was a single floor home, the roof was also a deck. The windows were just shutters. She knocked on the door, "Mom, it's me!" the door opened. The woman behind the door was in her mid thirties.

"Who's that?" she asked nodding in Zev's direction, "That's not the guy you described."

"I changed quickly," Zev said shrugging.

"Mom, you can take it up with the Kazekage if you want, just don't blame me if you get in trouble."

Her mother sighed, "Come in…," she said. Zev walked in, the layout of the house reminded him of the Hokage's. Except there were only three rooms, and the stairs led up to the roof, instead of a second floor. A man stepped down from the roof; he wore the Sand Village forehead protector. He was polishing a knife.

"Who's this?" he said pointing the blade at Zev, and he threw the blade at Zev. Zev could see that it was intended to miss. Zev grabbed the blade; it was like a basic kunai except instead of the rounded pummel it had an extra blade sticking out of the ring, where the pummel was normally.

Zev twirled it with his finger in the ring, "Tengin." He said, "I needed a place to stay, your daughter was kind enough to let me stay here. If that's alright with you," Zev finished with a command sounding tone, while still making it sound polite.

"Step outside first," he said as Zev tossed him back the knife.

"Dad, please," Sashii said as Zev stepped outside with her father. She sighed; this wasn't going to end well. Her dad paced out ten paces from Zev.

Then he turned, "Show me what you got." He said and charged Zev.

"You've got to be kidding." Zev said, as he slowly ran toward him, Zev disappeared and reappeared behind him, "You might as well be standing still…." Sashii's father turned, he threw the knife, which hit Zev in the chest.

"Tengin!" Sashii screamed, she paused for a moment when Zev turned to sand, "What the…" Zev was suddenly behind her father again.

"Like I said, you might as well be standing still." Zev drew his swords which were hanging from the belt. He crossed them sending his chakra into the swords he made a motion like he was slashing something in front of him. He released a whirlwind, which picked up sand, and blasted Sashii's father. When the whirlwind cleared, Sashii's father had many small cuts and slashes from the wind and the sand.

"Ever consider becoming a ninja?" he asked laughing, "Sorry about the knife thing, you took me by surprise," he brushed himself off.

"That's okay, I saw it coming, and I am a ninja, I just lost my forehead protector. I had to in order to fool pursuers," they both walked in talking and laughing.

"Okay maybe that went much better than I expected…" Sashii thought aloud as she walked back into the house.


	19. Chapter 19 last minute training

Author's notes; well, nothing really on this one. I probably really messed up trying to explain Zev's Alias, but oh well, that's how a lot of my names are created.

Disclaimer: I'll own Naruto when I become king of the univierse, why don't we go with that?

Chapter 19 Last Minute Training

Sashii had gone to bed early because she was tired from running all day to get to the village. Zev sat in the kitchen with her father. They talked about missions they had been on.

"How long have you gone with out food or water before?"

"I actually never ran out when I went on missions, if you know how, roughing it, isn't rough," Zev said swirling a drink in his glass, "I've had to go hunting without any weapons before; I eventually took a thin sack, filled it with water, and charged it with my chakra. Using that, I managed to take down a large deer."

"I've had to go a week without food. The longest I've went with out water is almost three days. We got separated, my team and I, when we were crossing the desert. A sand storm blew up. I wasn't stupid; I traveled during the night so I could use the stars to tell me what direction I was going, but it still took me a week. I had to ration my water. Eventually I ran out. Three days later, a caravan found me."

"Sounds like you got lucky," Zev said.

"I did. If they hadn't shown up I probably would have died," he took a drink out of his glass. He decided to leave out the messier details when he had to kill one who tried to take him captive as a slave.

"So, how'd you lose your forehead protector?"

"Well I was on a mission guiding some people, when I found out there were people who were specifically after me. I dropped it to throw them off."

"That probably wasn't the wisest. Now they know you're from here."

"No, they already knew that. I also smeared my blood on it to make it look like I was injured," Zev said shrugging, "I thought of everything."

"Are you sure they bought it?"

"I'm sure, I had a friend who was willing to go make sure. She told me, they thought I was dead." Zev wasn't entirely lying; it was true that he gave up his forehead protector to escape pursuers, and it was true that they bought it. Keishin had told him, not that she went to the village to check, but she knew.

"Are you entering the chuunin exams?" Sashii's father asked.

Zev nodded, "I can't wait."

"Do you have any jutsus that can be used for reconnaissance?" he asked, "Without them you won't be able to get through."

Zev thought hard for a moment, "No, I don't think I do…. I've never needed reconnaissance jutsus before."

"Never needed? Wow, you really are lucky. You should have had a mission like that it; you've been on much harder missions…."

"Oh, I've been on missions like that before, but I didn't need a jutsu. I went in, and got out with the info undetected. Anyways, do you know of a couple reconnaissance jutsus?"

"Well Sashii has _Mokushin no Jutsu_, Saken, her squad mate, has _Mokunoshita no jutsu_, and Sahlhi, her other squad mate, has an extra eye, that he makes with his sand. I also have _Mokushin no jutsu_. Besides that, I don't know. _Mokushin no jutsu_ is a kekkei genkai,_ Mokunoshita no jutsu _is a forbidden Jutsu, Saken somehow is capable of bypassing the human life cost. So you can't learn those. And Sahlhi's, that's been given to him and his father by a demon."

"Well, at least I have five more days until the Chuunin exams," Zev said as Sashii's father stood up, "That gives me five days to develop or learn a new jutsu," Zev stood up as well, _Too bad I can't use shadow clones to help speed it up._

"I'm going to bed, I need some extra sleep. I have a lot of paper work to fill out tomorrow morning," Zev nodded and went to the room Sashii had told him he'd be staying in for the next four days.

He lay down on the bed, _What am I going to use? I never needed reconnaissance jutsus before, I would run in, and then get out with the info, Zev_ didn't feel himself falling asleep.

Zev suddenly realized he wasn't in the room anymore, but in between the cages. He looked to the right, where Zev was caged. The wolf was waiting for him. "Zev you need a reconnaissance jutsu correct?" Zev nodded, "I can help you, but I only have till morning. Lobo gave up some control for the night to help your brother heal some injuries. Time moves much quicker here, so you need to pay attention. You won't master it while you're in here, your going to have to finish mastering it while you're awake," Zev nodded again, and paid close attention, "This jutsu is called _Mokunoarashi no jutsu_. It hasn't been used for generations. To start this jutsu has no need to for hand signs, but you can use them to get your self started," hand signs flashed in front of Zev. Zev mimicked them. He noticed instead of his chakra flowing into his hands it flowed straight behind his eyes. He blinked, and he felt like he was looking through a lightning bolt, but he didn't see anything. "You are only a quarter of the way there, next you have to add your wind chakra. Then you need to get your chakra to swirl. That is difficult enough, but you need to get it to go rapidly. You need to get it to speed up enough to make the center clear. That will take some time to learn."

Zev nodded, and tried again adding his own chakra to the lightning chakra. He got the feeling like he was looking through a cloud, it was step in the right direction, but he couldn't see anything yet. He tried several times to spin the chakra. When he did the Jutsu the cloud spun counter clockwise, but it was too slow. He tired several times; he decided to try spinning it another direction. This time it spun clockwise and much quicker. Zev tried over and over again trying to get it to go faster. Eventually he was interrupted by the wolf, "Morning is here, you have to wake." Zev nodded and felt himself drift back to the room.

Zev sat up and immediately started practicing the jutsu. He was having the same problem. He couldn't get it to go fast enough to make the center clear. Someone knocked on the door to his room, "It's open," he said with out stopping.

"We need to go see Saken." Sashii asked, "Did you not go to sleep?"

"I sort of did. I think I know how to make a jutsu, I'm trying to focus it, but that can wait let's go," Zev followed Sashii back to the mansion. Sashii was right; it did feel almost unbearably hot. Zev didn't want to be caught out during the heat of the day. Fortunately for Zev, the clothes he wore were thin and didn't trap heat. They got to the mansion and went inside. It was dark and shady inside. Saken was waiting, he held a forehead protector in his hand.

"Where's Tengin?" he asked Sashii, "and who's this?" he said pointing at Zev with the forehead protector.

"I'm Tengin, don't you recognize me?"

Saken didn't go opened mouthed like Sashii did, "Here, catch, that's yours. You look nothing like you, Tengin." He said tossing the forehead protector to Zev, Zev caught it, and tied it around his arm.

"That's what I said," Sashii spoke up, "anyways what's the plan?"

"I don't know now. I was planning on taking Tengin around town, so he could get some ideas of what to wear. But, I see he already did that."

"Well, I think I'm on the verge of learning a new jutsu, I'm not completely sure though, so I could use the next couple of days to learn it."

Saken nodded, "Alright so we'll do training the next couple of days. Let's train outside of the Village, that way you can use shadow clones," Zev nodded, he wanted to learn this as soon as possible.

The next two days brought no breakthroughs. Zev was growing frustrated. He couldn't seem to get it to speed up fast enough. The third day there was a sand storm a few miles away from the village. Zev watched the sand storm from a distance during a break in training. Zev was a little cautious about using shadow clones, as he didn't want to send any tips he wasn't from here.

Zev looked closely, it seemed that near the ground it was slower but at the top it was faster. Zev knew that was because the wind caused friction at the bottom while at the top there was no friction and that let the wind speed increase.

Zev got an idea. Zev attempted _Mokunoarashi no jutsu_ this time he used some of his chakra to create friction behind his eye. The speed of the cloud seemed to increase dramatically, "I almost got it now," Zev told Saken.

"Good, we only have two more days. Before it's time, and we can't train anymore." Zev nodded, and attempted to speed it up. He got a small increase.

Sashii asked, "Tengin, why did you choose Tengin?"

"Well _Gunjin_ means soldier. _Ten_ means heaven. A lot of my kekkei genkai moves have _ten _in them because of lightning sometimes being associated with God, so _Ten Gunjin _means heaven's soldier. Tengin is a form of that with some sounds and letters taken out," Zev explained, as he continued practicing his jutsu. He undid _Kage Bunshin no_ _jutsu_, and redid it to make sure all the clones were on the same page.

He spent the rest of the day practicing, and trying to speed up the jutsu. With the help of shadow clones, he got it so he could see through the cloud a little. But, he had to get it so it was clear.

The next day Zev got the jutsu. Sashii noticed that Zev had gotten the jutsu, "Your eyes they're grey!" she said when Zev finally got it.

"Really?" Zev asked and she nodded, "I guess that's a side effect of the jutsu. Sort of like how the veins on the side of the head pop out for byakugan." Zev said as he looked around, "This is really cool, I can see through things."

"How many fingers am I holding behind my back?" Saken asked testing the jutsu.

"Three, two, five, one, two, two, two, okay that's enough stop picking two," Zev laughed getting all of them right. Saken shrugged.

They walked back into the village; they decided they had done as much training as they needed. Zev still kept his _Mokunoarashi no jutsu _activated, "Zev watch where you're going!" Sashii yelled at him when he walked into a wall.

"Okay, I think I kept this active long enough," Zev said rubbing his forehead. He let the chakra be released from his eyes. It felt strange, most jutsu require a steady stream of chakra to be used, except for a few exceptions like _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, which had the user evenly spread out his chakra amongst the clones, the clones then used that chakra, and when the jutsu became undone the unused chakra comes back into the body, as does the experience the clone learned. This didn't. It just required the mental effort to cause the spinning of the cloud in the eye.

Sashii and Zev went out to eat that afternoon, with her parents. Saken stayed at the Kazekage's mansion. Zev occasionally tried to activate _Mokunoarashi no jutsu_, with out hand signs. Every once in a while he got close, but he never fully got it. Zev decided that night he would continue practicing it. He probably would have it down by the end of the night.

While they were eating, Zev was facing the front of the restaurant. He saw three Shinobi come into town. Leta, Utsuha, and Niku had come for the exams. He pointed them out to Sashii. She looked without turning her head, "So you think we should talk to them?"

"Well, I know Utsuha would like to see you."

"What makes you say that?"

"You don't know?" Zev asked raising an eyebrow, "Well, it's not my place to tell you," he said, "However, I think you should talk to him with out me around," he said standing up, "I think I should see if I can fool them," Zev walked out and bumped intentionally into Leta, "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," he said and ran off.

"That's funny; he didn't look like he was in a hurry." Utsuha said looking toward the way he had run off.

Sashii walked out of the restaurant, "Hey there!" she said waving, "Haven't seen you all in a while, how's it been?"

"Sashii, hi! How've you been?" Utsuha shouted smiling.

"Great, how about you?"

"We've been better," Niku said.

Utsuha leaned in closer to Sashii, "We're worried about Leta, because she has barely spoken a word since Shinri left. She's been quieter than usual recently."

Sashii looked past Utsuha, "Hi, Leta, how've you been," Leta looked down at her hands, Sashii looked at Utsuha again, "You're right…," she said with concern written all over her face, "Do you think she'll be alright during the exams?"

Utsuha sighed, "I don't know."

"Well the exams are tomorrow, I should let you guys find a place to stay," Sashii said walking off, "I'll see you all tomorrow!"

Utsuha waved, "You can count on it."


	20. Chapter 20 Chuunin Exams

Author's note; I believe this is my longest chapter. I wanted to add a character we all know and hate (Unless you like perveted creepy old men, I mean really, he want's sasuke's body...) but I hadn't seen him fight that much so I tired to make it quick as possible, both him and Zev releasing a few of their strongest moves (or so I thought at this point, now I know Oro's got much more stronger moves) right away. Those of you who read the Manga online and have seen the ragsengan (SP? I added it as a word on Microsoft word but I'm adding this before actualyl puitting it out) completed, I'm sorry for not using the name, I knew it was going to be powerful, so I just had him say the name and blow Zev's mind. I had wrote this before it was named. I apologize for the clicheness of Zev's comments to Leta right before starting the exam, but that's part of what he was thinking, I hadn't realized how cliche it was going to sound.  
Anyways, Comments on this chapter, (Minus Oro's fight with Zev, which I think is horrible anyways) are greatly appericeated.

One last thing which I might not have mentioned before, Zev's a master at fighting quickly, he has to or he'll reach his limit. So yes he can match skills with the best of them, but they just have to outlast them and well, things aren't looking so hot for him. I wasn't sure if I mentioned that before or not, so I'm just clearing that up, maybe again.

Disclaimer: look at any of the perivous chapters for this.

Chapter 20 Chuunin Exams

Zev, Sashii, and Saken walked up to the door to the room where the first part of the exam was going to be held. Sashii stopped, "Should we make an entrance?" unfolding her wings.

Zev shrugged, Saken nodded, "Sure, why not?"

_Because we have no idea how strong the people on the other side are we don't want to make enemies before it starts, _Zev kept to himself as Sashii blew the doors open. Sashii walked in head held up high, as did Saken. Zev kept his hands in his pockets.

"Confident much?" he heard some shinobi from the village hidden in the grass say. Zev looked around; most of the ninja in there were sending grim stares at him and his squad. There were at least fifty teams, which is one hundred fifty applicants. The one who had spoken walked up to them, Saken shoved him off to the side with a strong push from his shoulder. The ninja came around and tried to block Zev's path. Zev walked right through him like he wasn't there. He grabbed his arm, "What's your deal?" the ninja was trying to pick a fight.

Sashii turned around, "I wouldn't piss him off if I were you."

"Why what's he gonna-" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Zev had picked him up and threw him all the way down the hall they had just walked down. He hit the wall upside down. He stuck for a second and fell. There was a nice imprint of him on the wall.

"That's why." Sashii said smiling; she gave a small laugh, and continued walking. She looked around; she saw amongst the gathers that looked down the hall to the imprint of the ninja was Utsuha and Niku.

Utsuha pulled himself away, "Is that Shinri?" He said pointing at Zev.

"No that's Tengin; we switched up the teams a little." She lied, _Tengin wants to make sure no one can trace him to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I'm not going to tell them, _she thought.

Suddenly there was a large explosion in the front, "Okay, that's long enough." someone said, when the smoke cleared, there was a whole bunch of joinin at the front. The speaker, wore bandages all over, he reminded Sashii of a mummy, "Everyone was handed out a sheet of paper with a number on it. Take you appointed seat," it took people a while to find their seat, as the seats weren't in numerical order. Zev found himself next to Leta. She was looking at her hands in her lap, "There are some ground rules I'm going to cover," the Speaker said, not everyone was paying attention; he dragged his nails on the black board up front. It seemed like every one flinched at the sound, except Zev, he didn't mind the sound at all, which left him wondering why everyone flinched at it. "Now that I got your attention here's the ground rules, there are ten questions, each are worth one point, lose all ten, your out, if your out, then your whole squad is out," he wrote this out on the board, "If your caught cheating, you lose two points. That's all you may begin. You have one hour."

Zev flipped over his paper and looked at the questions, generally he was great at academics, but he didn't even understand some of these questions. Zev sat and thought for a moment rereading some of the questions. He looked over at Leta's paper; she hadn't flipped it over, "Aren't you even going to try?" she shook her head, "Why not?" he asked quiet enough so that only Leta could hear him.

"Because I came here to see one man, he isn't here. I just don't want to try."

Zev sighed, "I may not know him, but I doubt he wants you to just give up. He probably wants you to succeed on your own, that's why he's not here. He just wants you to be strong on your own," He looked back down at his test. He heard Leta flip her paper over, _Okay, now that she's good, time to do a little reconnaissance, _Zev activated his eye. He no longer needed hand signs to initiate it. He didn't want to be obvious he tried looking straight ahead. No one ahead of him knew any of the answers yet.

He decided to try something, he closed his eyes, and he still saw the cloud swirling. He thought of certain people's papers who he figured who might know the answers. Their papers flashed before his eyes. He then thought of Sashii's paper. He saw her paper; she had doodled along the edges of her paper while trying to solve the questions. Zev let himself think of all the people's papers in the room. He found one with all the answers. It took him a while but he pinpointed it. It was the answer sheet, _well…_ _that works, _he thought, and he began writing all the answers. He opened his eyes and saw that Leta had gotten several answers already, whether or not it was from his sheet he didn't know. He leaned back and waited for the time to come up.

Sashii saw Zev lean back and stare at the ceiling, _Did he finish already? _she activated _Mokushin no Jutsu_ it worked in her mind. It freed her mind's eye. She mentally floated over Zev's paper; she saw he had all the answers. _Wow good going Tengin! _she thought as she copied the answers. She tapped out a beat with her hands as she set down her pencil.

Saken heard the beat, _There's no way she could have finished! _he thought, he activated _Mokunoshita no jutsu_. Sashii's page was shown to him, and he heard her thoughts whispered to him.

_I can't believe Tengin got the answers already!_ He heard her think.

_So these came from Tengin. _He thought, "I wonder where he got them," he said aloud and heard an examiner write something down. He shrugged and ducked his head, before anyone could see his eyes had gone completely black. He wrote down the answers he saw on Sashii's page.

Utsuha saw Tengin lean back from the back row. Immediately after Sashii began writing, then he decided cheating once wasn't so bad. He activated the sharingan, and copied Saken's movements once he started writing. He wondered how Saken got the answers. He looked at his sheet after Saken had finished writing. He noticed someone was behind him. He turned around. There was one of the joinin behind him. He looked at his paper. "How'd you get the answers? No one could get these answers so quickly." Utsuha shrugged. The one leading the exam showed up, the joinin showed Utsuha's paper to him. He looked confused for a moment. He pulled out a piece of paper out of his coat, and looked at both that piece and Utsuha's.

He went up to the front, "The clock is paused for a moment. Who has already finished the test? Zev held up his hand, and looked around, Utsuha, Saken, and Sashii were the only others to raise their hands, "Follow me. Bring your papers," he said sternly. He brought them out in the hall, "How did you get the answers? No one is that quick!"

Utsuha looked at Saken, who in turn looked at Sashii, who in turned looked at Zev. Zev looked at them, "What you all got them from me?"

Utsuha spoke up, "I got mine from Saken."

"I got mine from Sashii."

"I got mine from you, Tengin."

"Well I got mine from the answer sheet in his coat pocket." Zev said jabbing a thumb at the joinin.

The joinin looked at Zev after doing a double take, "How did you get them?"

"I used a jutsu."

"This coat was made from thread sewn by chakra. No ocular jutsu can penetrate it. It was designed for this."

"I didn't look through it, I looked at the sheet. I pictured it in my mind using a jutsu."

The joinin sighed, "There's nothing against the rules for something like that, I guess, you can go back in…." He collected their sheets, and they all took their seats again. Zev looked at Leta's paper. She had finished. He sat down. It shouldn't be too much longer.

Yet, sitting there listing to pencils scratch, and occasionally a kunai being sent to some one who had been caught cheating a few too many times. Zev found out a few minutes is too long in a class room.

By the end of the hour, Zev had figured out the exact number of dots on the ceiling, five hundred sixty-two thousand four hundred thirty three, not counting the hundred-fourteen marks from various blades in the ceiling. Eventually the joinin asked for the papers to be passed to the front, with their owner's village symbol and their name at the top. They were passed forward, and an envelope was passed back, with the words, open at your own risk, on it. The joinin shouted, "Some of you are no doubt wondering what that envelope is. I'm about to tell you." No one was paying attention, he dragged his finger nails on the blackboard till almost everyone was clutching their ears, "The envelope carries a final test. If you fail this test, you fail the whole exam and won't be allowed to retake it again for five years…." A few students objected, "If you want, you may reject this final test and…." Students were still objecting and shouting, he lifted his hand to the blackboard, they stopped talking, "You've learned. Now, as I was saying, if you want, you may reject this final test and come again better prepared next time. Now remember if you fail your squad fails, I'll give you five minutes to discuss and leave if you want." He walked off.

Sashii held up her hand, "What if we already know our answer?"

"If you already have decided, you may follow me." He was surprised that Sashii, Saken, and Zev stood up immediately without any conversation between them. And a few seconds later, Leta and Utsuha stood up; they pulled Niku out of his seat and dragged him along. They followed him into the next room, he said, "You may open the envelope," he said smiling and walking out. Zev opened his with out any thought. The sheet inside said, "Congratulations on passing the first part of the exam."

The others opened theirs, "I don't get it." Niku said.

"The test wasn't a question. It was a choice," Zev said which only served to confuse Niku, "The choice to retreat and comeback better prepared, or to go in knowing the consequence for failure was the test. A chuunin is a leader; he'll some times have to choose to go in, without being properly prepared. He'll have tough choices to make, like the one we just made; this was a test to see if we could make the decision to continue on." Zev continued explaining. Niku nodded. The others were listening as well. They also nodded.

Leta walked up to Zev when Utsuha and Niku were talking to each other, "Thanks, you were right, he wouldn't have wanted me to sit there and fail. He would have wanted me to succeed on my own two feet."

"So, who is this guy? Someone special?"

She blushed, "Umm… his name is Zev…." She said, barely audible. Zev had to strain to hear her. "I don't think you know him…." She covered her mouth as she realized she let his name slip.

"Zev? As in Zev Alcido?" Zev said smiling, _I never thought I'd be talking about myself like this, _he thought. He continued, "I know him."

Leta's face turned completely red, "Y-y-y-you won't tell him, right?"

"I think he already knows." Zev said, "But you should tell him yourself when you see him again."

She nodded slowly, "You're… you're… probably right." She said looking at her feet, and shifting the sand on the floor with them.

Zev looked up, several ninja had come in. They were from sound. Zev ignored them. They looked at Zev and decided not to get in his way. "It's seems my actions before the exam are scaring them off," Zev said to Leta quietly. Zev looked at the clock in the room, there was three more minutes.

Zev shrugged, he looked out the door. There were only thirteen more teams discussing the decision, _Wow, so many were not willing to make that decision. To think, they would have passed if they had made that leap of faith, _Zev looked up at the clock, two more minutes.

He was really bored. He looked back out there. There were five teams from the village in the leaves, four from the sand, two from rain, one from the mist, and one from grass. He noticed some thing about one of the teams from the grass. It looked like his skin was peeling at his cheek bone, underneath he was really pale. He brought his hand up and smoothed the skin there. It looked perfectly natural after his hand moved over it. _Whoa, what did he do there? _Zev wondered.

Eventually the joinin leading the exam came and forced them to make a decision. All chose to accept the test. They all entered the room and tore open the envelopes. The Joinin explained to them what the test was about. He simply undid his bandages, which reveled that he was burned totally head from toe. It seemed like a miracle that he survived. "When you're a chuunin you're responsible for those under you. Sometimes, you may not be able to come back unscathed." He wrapped up the bandages, no one said anything. He opened a door, "The next instructor is through here. Try not to die." He said as everyone walked through.

They walked out into the open. The next instructor was waiting. "Okay maggots!" he shouted, "You may have gotten through the last exam alright but I guarantee that you're going to be in pain after the next exam!" He ordered to some other joinin to hand out papers. Consent forms. "Sign these then follow me." He shouted.

Zev was one of the first to fall into line; Saken and Sashii were behind him. They were lead to a large fence. It was difficult to see through the fence with all the warning signs posted on it and all the chains on the gate, but from what Zev could see there was only sand. He looked back and Saken seemed a little shook up, "What's up with him?" He asked Sashii, he looked at her when she didn't answer. She was very pale.

"I see some of you know what you're getting into." The next instructor said laughing. "Good maybe you'll have the sense to turn back."

Saken grabbed Zev's cloak, "Tengin! That enclosure is almost guaranteed certain death!"

Zev looked at Saken, "I'm not afraid, but I need you unafraid as well to continue." Saken nodded.

"I understand, you better be careful though."

Zev turned to the joinin, "Can you explain this next bit so I can pass it?"

"You're that confident are you?"

Zev shrugged, "All I know is that I'm not afraid of what ever you throw at me." The joinin got a cruel smile he lunged at Zev, he wasn't fast. Zev flipped over him and kicked him from behind. The joinin went flying, "Even if you come at me yourself…." Saken and Sashii felt more confident knowing the confidence Zev had. The joinin stood up he looked back at Zev with an evil glare. He considered bringing him down to his place right there.

"Sir!" someone shouted, the speaker came running, "Sir, one of the creatures escaped! It's a satigre!"

"Where is it?" The joinin looked around, "Where did it go?"

"We don't know….."

Zev leaned over to Sashii, "What's a satigre?"

"The desert here doesn't have that many animals that can be used to summon. So we decided to try and create our own. The rejects come here. A satigre is a creature like a shark, but it's more of a tiger. You don't want to meet one. It can smell blood a mile away." Zev took a knife and cut his palm, "What are you doing?" Sashii asked panicked, "I don't care how confident you are, you don't want to mess with a satigre!"

Zev wasn't listening, he made hand signs to _fuubakun no jutsu_, he'd just finished when his blood hit the sand. A few seconds later, and after everyone had tried to get as far away as possible, there was a bulge in the sand moving towards Zev, but then it disappeared. Zev didn't let go of the jutsu, suddenly a giant tiger head came out of the ground. Zev put his hand into the creature's mouth and released the jutsu. It was much different then compared to using it over grass and dirt. The wind picked up the sand and made a sandstorm. The creature was torn into shreds. Its blood was thrown into the sky, and it started falling. Zev looked like something out of hell when he stood up.

The joinin was glad he didn't attempt to bring Zev down to his place. He guessed it was higher than his, much higher.

A few minutes later after they had gotten all the blood cleared, the joinin stood in front of the gate. He held two scrolls, one had the kanji for love on it, and the other had the kanji for hate on it. He held them up and shouted, "There will be eight, scrolls with love on them, and eight will have hate on them. Your goal is to bring both scrolls to the tower in the center of this enclosure. Each team will get one scroll; you have two days to get to the tower with both. As for what you do for water and food, I don't care. You are not to open the scrolls." He pointed over to a booth, "That's where you receive your scroll, one at a time, also turn in your consent forms there." He walked off.

Zev's team was one of the last teams to get a scroll. The team after him was the grass. The one who had the peeling skin walked up to Zev, "You're very strong." He said laughing, not one of the friendly kind of laughs either, "I look forward to seeing you in battle…." He walked off.

_Something about him seems kind of… off, Zev_ didn't say anything to the others though, his mind raced to recall his old bingo book, nothing sprung to memory from the Village Hidden in the Grass. When at last it came time for them to get there scroll, they went into the tent and were given the scroll with hate on it. They were also ordered to go to gate 2. Sashii led them to gate 2. It was a ways down from the gate they were at. There was a clock counting down at the top. Someone had mention when the clock was at twelve o'clock they would be allowed in. Zev turned to the others, "I think we should split up, do some reconnaissance first. See who has what." Zev tucked the scroll with hate on it in his cloak. He looked at the clock; there was only thirty seconds left, "Are we going to go with that?" The others nodded. The clock rang out. Zev didn't wait for the gate to open, he jumped over it.

Zev ran off. He looked behind him once; Sashii had taken to the sky. Saken probably was on the ground. Zev gave him self a mental map of the area, which was nothing but sand and the tower in the middle. Zev decided to try out his new eye. He activated it without using hand signs as he ran. He saw hundreds of creatures underneath the sand. He kept running. He ran for what seemed like hours he took a break. He looked in the direction he was running. Nothing yet, he tried to extend his vision. He saw a team being attacked by some creature. He looked closer. It was a satigre; unlike the last one Zev got a good look at it. It had a wider mouth than a normal tiger, it was a sandy color, with darker stripes, it had four claws, and it had a fin on its back. The fin seemed to be able to lie flat on the back of the creature. Its fur seemed to hug the body, and it shined. It looked very smooth. After a while Zev noticed that Leta wasn't on the offensive she was the one being attacked.

Leta was knocked off the satigre. And the creature ran. Zev was closer now and didn't need his eye to see Leta. The other ninja were searching her. One found her scroll. Zev drew his swords he attacked the ninja. It didn't take much to send them running, especially when he cut one and they were afraid that blood would attract more creatures. They dropped Leta's scroll, but they kept a hold on their own. Zev took out his own scroll. Leta got up, "You … saved me?"

Zev turned holding up her scroll, which was love, "Don't thank me yet. I wanted your scroll." He ran making sure to drop his own. Leta saw him drop the other scroll and took it. She ran off to find Utsuha and Niku; her idea of splitting up wasn't a good one. She put her hand on the ground, and begged a satigre to help her. The same one that had come before came again.

She petted him and then jumped on his back, she told him where she wanted to go and he ran off. She looked up and saw Sashii flying around. She wasn't near Leta, which Leta was thankful for, Sashii landed. Leta turned back when she heard the creatures thoughts tell her she was near the others. The creature was very intelligent. It spoke clearly, and it told her to summon him when ever she needed. She told him that she didn't know how to summon. Suddenly hand signs appeared in front of her. She had them memorized right away. When they got near Utsuha and Niku they ran. She sent the image of what they had of satigres and told him to wait.

She hopped down and chased Niku and Utsuha, "Wait!" she shouted. "Its okay!" they stopped and turned back.

"Leta there's a satigre back there!" Utsuha shouted.

"It's okay! He's nice." She said pulling Utsuha back to the satigre. When they got to the satigre he was lying on the ground. Leta took Utsuha's hand and made him pet it. "See?" She said smiling. Utsuha was still scared. "I was attacked not to long ago. That man on Sashii's team saved me. He took my scroll, but dropped his." She said taking out Zev's scroll.

"You got lucky." Niku said, "Maybe I should take it." He said reaching for it. Leta gave it too him. "Let's stick together from now on…." Niku said, and Utsuha nodded. Leta went over and talked with the satigre. He dove into the ground. A few minutes later, he came back with two more satigres. After a lot of convincing by Leta, eventually Utsuha and Niku were willing to ride the Satigre.

Else where, Sashii was talking to Zev, "I think the best idea would be to sit around the tower and try to steal the scroll from the overconfident ones."

Zev nodded, "By the way I lost our scroll, but I got another." He said holding out Leta's scroll, "Actually I intentionally lost ours; this is Leta's she lost hers, so I made sure to drop ours so she could find it and took this one."

"Well that was nice of you. Still, you're sure you shouldn't have just let her just lose both?" Zev shrugged, Sashii took to the sky again. She came back down, "I think Saken's in a fight. That way." She said pointing.

Zev ran as fast as possible with out using _Relatzer no jutsu_, "What makes you think he's in a fight?"

Sashii flew very close to the ground, "You'll see when we get there."

A few minutes later all Zev could say was, "Whoa…." The ground was covered in snakes, frogs, and insects. Skeletons walked out across the moving mass. Saken stood there smiling. The unfortunate souls were trapped by the insects, snakes, and frogs. The skeletons searched them. They didn't have a scroll. They had already lost it. Saken undid his jutsus. Kicked them around some, and walked off.

Zev and Sashii caught up to him. "Saken, I think it would be a good idea to wait around the tower, and catch people in a trap." Saken nodded.

They decided as a group to stay low as possible, so Sashii folded her wings and ran with them to the tower.

The Satigre grew tired after searching for other teams. Leta's satigre dove under, leaving Leta on top. The others followed. "Where did they go?" Niku asked.

"They went to get a drink." Leta explained, "They know where the water is underground."

"Do you think they can get us some too?" Utsuha asked rhetorically, "We're out of water. He looked at Leta, she didn't have her canteen, "Where's your…." Then the Satigre popped out of the ground, with the canteen in its mouth. Leta grabbed it and petted him. She took a drink, and passed it around.

"I have to admit, Leta," Niku started as he passed the drink to Utsuha, "You've matured a lot. You've grown much stronger in your skills." Leta smiled. "Hey Utsuha! Don't drink so much!" Niku shouted at him. Utsuha had chugged almost all the water.

The other satigres popped out of the ground. They were ready to go. Utsuha and Niku popped onto their backs, "See? They're not so bad!" Leta said as she jumped onto the back of her own. They ran off again.

Zev was dying of boredom waiting for someone to come. _"We had to of waited for at least several hours!"_ He thought. He looked at the sky; the sun was approaching the horizon. He looked at Sashii; she kept her eyes riveted on the trap. "Sashii, I'm going to go try to grab a scroll on my own." Zev said handing her his, "and wake Saken up." He said and ran off.

Zev stopped at a sand dune. He heard raised voices. He used his eye to see what was going on. He saw a team from village hidden in the leaves, and a team from the desert. They both wanted to know what the other team's scroll was. Eventually they both held it up. They both had opposite types. Zev got an idea, he formed a _Fuubakun no jutsu_. He created a sandstorm then he ran through and took both their scrolls. As he ran off he heard explosions coming from the area that the teams were at.

On the way back he was stopped by the grass ninja, "Well, well, what do we have here?"

"Get out of my way." Zev said putting the scrolls into a pack on his belt under the cloak, "I have no desire to fight you."

The guy smiled, "But I want to fight you." He put his finger up to his eye. Zev saw Kunai being thrown at him. They hit him in the head. Zev felt the kunai hit him and the pain. But it was just an illusion, he felt sick, and he threw up.

Zev was angry. Zev grabbed his swords and made a whirlwind. The wind picked up sand and blasted the ninja. His skin didn't cut rather it seemed to flake off.

"Oh, very good," he said laughing, "But it's going to take more than that!" his skin underneath seemed to be pale. He bit his finger. He brought his left arm forward. He had a tattoo on it. He smeared his blood on it. Suddenly the sand rose up and took the form of a snake. The snake attempted to eat Zev. Zev jumped back as the monster dove at him. It hit the ground in front of Zev. Zev ran up its body to make an attack on its beckoner. The man jumped off. Zev formed a _Fuubakun no Jutsu_, he jumped down. The man jumped back, letting Zev miss by inches. Zev hit the ground, as did the ball. The ball formed a sandstorm. The snake returned to dust as the sandstorm blew off the blood on the man's arm.

Zev could see almost his whole face now. It was pale, and his eyes looked like a snakes. He wasn't from the village hidden in the grass; rather he was from the village hidden in the sound. He seemed familiar, not from personal experience, but the way he was fighting and his techniques seemed very familiar, but Zev couldn't recall from what. Zev activated his eye while he had a chance. Zev saw that the man was controlling a katana with his chakra. The man tried to stab Zev from behind, Zev dodged it. The man laughed. Zev charged him. The man grabbed Zev with three snakes coming out of his arm. He threw Zev, Zev landed on his feet and turned to face him. He saw the man making hand signs. "You might be useful, you don't back down in the face of an adversary, or maybe you don't know how outclassed you are." Suddenly his neck extended and he bit Zev on the back on his shoulder near his neck. Zev took his sword and attempted to cut his neck but he moved back.

Zev felt a throbbing pain where the man bit him. "If you want to see me again, survive this exam. I can make you stronger, more powerful, even give you power to influence nations…. I'll be waiting." The pain died down somewhat.

"_I sealed the curse mark he put on you. It shouldn't activate unless you use its power," _Zev heard the wolf say inside him.

Zev ran back to where Sashii and Saken were waiting, _"Thanks." _Zev told the wolf, "Sashii, Saken, I got two more scrolls."

"Great! That means we can take down the trap!" Sashii started undoing the trap. Saken noticed a mark on Zev's neck.

"What's that?" Saken asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing." Zev put a hand on the mark, _it still hurts…, _Zev wondered what he should do with the extra scroll, "I'll be back…." He said and ran off.

"Where's he going?" Sashii wondered aloud.

It didn't take Zev that long to find Leta. Utsuha and Niku were with her. Zev stood right in their path. He didn't flinch when they ran around him and circled him. "What do you want?" Utsuha yelled at Zev.

"I have a gift," Zev started, looking at Leta, "from a mutual friend." He held out the scroll with love on it to her.

Leta took it, "Thanks…." She said quietly.

"Now if you don't mind I have to go now. Be careful there's someone out there who has no interest in passing the exam." He ran off. He found Sashii and Saken waiting. "Let's go in…." He said. They walked into the tower and presented the scrolls. The joinin waiting brought them to a door. The door was sealed with a paper that read open.

They opened the door. The room wasn't anything special. It was just a plain room with grey walls, a wooden ceiling and wooden floors. On one of the walls was a picture of the kanji for love, and hate. Underneath the picture was four characters, love, life, death, hate. Hate and love were circled. Underneath the words was open.

Sashii stated the obvious, "I think we're supposed to open them."

"Yes." Saken agreed handing Sashii the scroll for love. When they opened it, there was the character for man. The paper began to bulge. "Throw it!" Saken shouted. Sashii and Saken threw the scrolls. When they landed, a joinin was there. Zev recognized him.

"Hi, I'm Jada; I see you managed to finish this part of the exam in one day. Very good!"

Saken spoke up, "What do you mean this part? Also, I thought only Joinin from the village hidden in the sand were running this."

"They are, but from here on out other joinin are getting involved. This is the second part of the exam there still is one more part. The next part you may wind up fighting each other, as it is a sort of tournament. It's done this way to show off each village's ninja, and hopefully bring more missions to that village."

"May I ask a question?" Zev asked. Jada nodded, "Do you trust Lobo? You're from his village."

Jada shook his head, "No, he died once, there's got to be some thing wrong with him." He looked up, "Don't tell him I said that. He might eat my soul or something; his new sensei would at least."

Zev smiled and open his cloak a little so Jada could see his swords, "I won't."

Jada smiled, "Glad to see you got out of there."

"It's Tengin for now."

"Well, Tengin, you guys can stay here for tonight and tomorrow. I'll get you guys some food." And he disappeared.

Saken turned to Zev, "Did you know him?"

Zev nodded, "Yes he was my sensei."

"Can you trust him?"

"I can completely trust him."

Leta Utsuha and Niku got to the tower as soon as possible. When they got to the tower and they showed their scrolls they were shown to a room. The door was sealed with a paper that read open. They opened the door. The room wasn't anything special.

On one of the walls there was walls was a picture of the kanji for love, and hate. Underneath the picture was four characters, love, life, death, hate. Hate and love were circled. Underneath the words was open. "Well let's open them." Utsuha said.

They opened them and paper began to bulge, they threw the scrolls, and a joinin appeared, it was Osona, "Wow, I guess I got lucky that I'm the one greeting you. I'm glad to see you made it. Within a day no less!"

"Well we did have a little help, from Tengin, but Leta did a lot." Utsuha admitted, "We didn't even need to fight!"

"Was that a summoning jutsu?" Niku asked, "And do you have food?"

Osona laughed, "I'll get you some food real quick." She left and came back with some food for him, "So, how'd it go?" she asked them.

"Real good! At first we concerned about Leta, but she did well on the written part of the test. Then she was willing to jump in and take the second test, which wasn't really a test, but she still was ready for it. When we started the second part of the exam Leta talked to one of those satigres! We got to use those to go around. Not to long ago we met Tengin who gave Leta the scroll with love on it, and he said it was from a mutual friend."

Leta smiled when Osona looked at her, "You talked to a satigre?" Leta nodded, "How?"

"Um… I just can… Zev said he tried to do what I did but he couldn't… he said you can do it or you can't." She said looking at her feet.

"Well you did great!" Osona said, "All of you did, maybe I'll take you out to eat after this." Utsuha and Niku cheered at the top of their lungs. Osona couldn't help but laugh.

Zev put his hand on his shoulder, his shoulder hurt from the curse mark. He removed himself from the pain. He hoped the pain would leave soon. He stood in a large hall. The Kazekage stood at the front. There were joinin from all the villages there. Zev saw Jada, and Osona. He also saw some famous faces up there, such as Rock Lee, and Saskue Uchiha.

Zev felt another pulse of pain, _I thought he said he sealed it! _

The wolf answered, _"I did but now I'm trying to take it and remove it, or at least, change the nature of it. Don't worry, I'm almost finished, I'll stop when you're fighting."_

Zev sighed, _I wish he'd stop now…._

The Kazekage stood up, "Normally, you'd all be moved into the next exam, but as there are seven teams, and twenty-one individuals, we need to bring it down some more. Because the finals will be held in front of all the leaders of the nations, we want to keep this as exciting as possible." Zev looked around. There were two from the desert, two from the leaf, one from the mist, and two from the rain. Zev was shocked to see that Emiko led one rain squad, and Yukio led the other. He also recognized the ones they were leading, they were known criminals, and they spent most of their time in jail. A man stepped out, He wore facial markings and wore nearly all black clothing except for a symbol on the front which was a two half circles of different colors, "If you don't mind Garra, I'll start the prelims."

The Kazekage nodded, "Go ahead, Kankuro."

A piece of the wall moved, revealing a screen, "This screen will show us who will fight who," the screen started flashing names, it stopped with Saken, and Amaya. A Kunochi from the mist ninja team jumped out, "Who's Saken? Who am I going to pummel?"

Saken walked out, "Mind saying that to my face?"

"I would, but I'd rather not look at it." She said laughing.

Zev mumbled, "I already hate her."

Kankuro shouted, "Everyone who's not fighting please go up to the ledges" He said pointing at the ledges that went around the room. Sashii and Zev went up the right side, Leta, Utsuha, and Niku followed. Osona jumped up there as well. Zev turned and saw Keishin walking up there, with another Kunochi. Another joinin jumped up, she was also a Kunochi.

Zev walked over to Keishin. She immediately said, "Hi, Zev, why are you dressed like that?" As Kankuro signaled the match to begin.

"My name is Tengin for now. I can't let there be any chance that someone will notice me from the rain." Amaya charged Saken "Is that one of your teammates?" Zev asked.

Keishin nodded, "Yep, she's really confident in her self." Saken started making the hand signs for _Kotsujin no jutsu_.

"Too confident," Zev said as Amaya was caught by Saken's skeletons. Saken pulled out a knife; he went right up to Amaya. He said something which Zev couldn't hear. Her head drooped.

Kankuro raised a hand and pointed at Saken, "Winner… Saken of the Sand!" Saken undid the jutsu, Amaya fell down. He held out a hand to her and lifted her up. They walked up together; Amaya's head was still hanging. Saken walked over to the other side of Zev. The screen started flashing names; it stopped on Tengin and Matsu.

"Looks like your up." Saken said walking over to the other side of Zev; he jumped when Zev turned to sand. A pillar of sand shot up on the ground below, when it fell back Zev was standing there.

Matsu jumped from next to Yukio was, "Ready to get your ass kicked?" He asked when he landed. Kankuro signaled the start of the match. Zev rushed Matsu with a force that threw him against the wall. When he bounced back off the wall, Zev grabbed his head and pounded it against the wall a couple times. He knocked him unconscious.

Kankuro took a look at Matsu, "Wow, that was even quicker than the last match." He said and stood up, "Winner… Tengin of the sand!"

Zev once again turned to sand and popped up next to Saken, "That was almost not worth the effort." He said.

"But I can tell you enjoyed it," Keishin said smiling, "He was quite the headache right?" Zev nodded, more than ten times he was called to take care of Matsu, but if he used excessive force he was yelled at. Not like his brother at all. The screen started flashing names again. It stopped on Jin, and Ai. Keishin turned to one of her teammates, "Jin, your up!" She said cheerfully. Jin jumped down. On the other side, a Kunochi who had the kanji for Love on her black shirt jumped down. The both took up a fighting stance. Kankuro started the match.

Jin moved first, she made hand signs, and a thick mist came into the room.

She used the _kirigakure jutsu_, the jutsu Khalon had used when Zev fought him way back. They couldn't hear anything or see anything. Ai had probably figured that if she made any noise Jin would find her, so she was being as quiet as possible. Zev used his eye to look through the mist. Neither of the girls had moved from the spot. Five minutes later, and still no movement, _"This is so boring." _Zev took a closer look at Jin. She was making hand signs, and mouthing something that Zev couldn't make out. She pulled back her arm as if to throw a punch, water gathered around her arm. She threw a punch and a dragon made out of water shot out. Ai ducked, Zev wondered how she could have seen it coming when he took a closer look. Her eyes were closed. Ai moved quietly but still swiftly. She got close to Jin when Jin cleared the mist and threw a punch right into Ai's chin, _How did she know she was there? Did she just get lucky? _he shook his head, _No, if that was the case, she would have been firing blind with that dragon. Somehow she knew she was there, _Ai and Jin threw a rapid exchange of blows. Zev saw Ai move a little oddly. Suddenly there was an explosion behind Jin. Jin turned. Ai took her chance and threw a strong punch into Jin's stomach. Ai punched again, and again. Then she kicked Jin away. She jumped into the air and threw at least twenty Senbon at Jin. All stuck her. Ai stood up, and walked away, "She's down. Those senbon have a poison on them that causes paralysis." She said.

Kankuro took a look at Jin and nodded, "Winner… Ai of the Sand!" Some medic core ninja came out and took Jin off on a stretcher. The screen started flashing names again.

Zev turned to Keishin, "How did Jin know exactly where Ai was?"

"She can hear an opponent's heart beat." Keishin explained, "What I want to know is what that explosion was."

"That explosion was a simple genjutsu, it wasn't entirely perfect, so I'm surprised that Jin bought it." Saken explained, "You caught it, didn't you Tengin? That odd movement?"

Zev nodded, the screen stopped flashing names. It stopped on, Keishin and Suoh. Keishin said, "Wish me luck." and jumped down.

"Good luck, you're going to need it. Badly!" Saken said.

"What makes you say that?" Zev asked.

"Suoh idolizes his sensei, Ryu." Saken began, "There are rumors that Ryu taught his greatest techniques that he developed to Suoh…. Those techniques… are said to be some of the strongest techniques in out village."

Zev looked at Keishin standing in the middle of the arena. He hadn't seen her fight before but he guessed she was good. As soon as Kankuro signaled the start of the match and before Suoh could get a jutsu started, Keishin used the kirigakure jutsu. Zev saw a giant pair of wings spread out of the mist. A couple of flaps blew the mist away. Keishin was staring at a giant dragon. The dragon roared, and Keishin didn't flinch. Zev looked around; some of the others were scared of this dragon. Zev wasn't too afraid, he didn't want to fight it, but he was willing to try.

Suoh stood on top of the giant dragon. The dragon had a sandy color, its scales didn't shine. The eyes were black except for the pupils, which were a blood red. The dragon's wings were a deep blue. The dragon reared its head and roared again. Zev heard Niku scream. He sighed, as he heard Niku faint. The dragon reared its head again, and roared. It swept out one of its massive claws at Keishin; Keishin jumped and rolled over its claw. The dragon breathed out what looked like shards of glass. Zev guessed that it spit out sand and fire together, making glass. Keishin dodged them all with minimal effort.

Suoh jumped off the dragon, which stayed in the same spot and continued to lash out at Keishin occasionally, and made some hand signs. He held out his hand, _"Ryuuhi no jutsu!"_ Fire shot out of his hand. Keishin dodged again with minimal effort. He made more hand signs,_ "Ryuuchikara no jutsu!" _He threw a punch. Zev could see the air shimmer where the shock wave went. Again Keishin used minimal effort to dodge the attack. The dragon attempted to pin Keishin down. She rolled and it missed. Suoh made the hand signs for _Ryuuhi no jutsu_ again. Keishin dodged the attack leaving only inches to spare.

Suoh was getting angry. Suoh made the hand signs again, this time he attacked with the dragon. The dragon breathed out the glass shards, as Keishin dodged Suoh's attack. She kept moving, dodging both attacks. Suoh made the hand signs for _Ryuuchikara no jutsu_, the dragon attacked at the same time, sweeping across while his attack pushed forward. Keishin dodged by leaping into the air. Zev was amazed at how little effort Keishin used.

The dragon was also getting angry. The dragon turned and used its massive tail to try and hit Keishin, it missed and hit Suoh. Its tail crashed into the wall, Suoh was pinned against the wall. The dragon turned into sand and Suoh fell from the wall. Kankuro looked at Suoh, he was barely conscious. He coughed up blood. _"The impact must have injured him internally." _Kankuro thought he raised a hand and pointed it at Keishin, "Winner… Keishin of the mist! Medic core!" He shouted. The medics came and pick him up and a stretcher.

Keishin walked up, "Thanks, for wishing me luck." She said smiling.

Saken just shook his head, "I can't believe you beat him without throwing a punch…." Keishin just smiled and looked back toward the arena. Some joinin were clearing the arena of the sand left by the dragon. Once it was cleared everyone looked at the screen. It was flashing names again. It stopped on Utsuha and Hitomi.

Utsuha jumped down immediately. Hitomi wasn't in a hurry. She walked down the steps. Kankuro signaled the start of the match. Hitomi seemed to disappear. Utsuha looked around, she wasn't anywhere. He felt someone punch him in the stomach. When he fell over, he felt several kicks to his side. He got away, he activated his sharingan. He could see what was happening, Hitomi used a genjutsu to make her self invisible. Utsuha copied it, and suddenly Hitomi had no chance. Hitomi couldn't find Utsuha, but Utsuha could see Hitomi exactly. He pummeled her quite a bit. Although Zev couldn't see it, nor could anyone else, she laid out several seals on the ground, running, while trying to stay away from Utsuha. Zev was beginning to prefer the match between Ai and Jin to this, at least before he could see what was going on.

Utsuha stepped on one of the seals accidentally, a bright light, a sign that an art had been used. Zev knew what art it was, it was _Kai no Jutsu_. _"That's impressive, turning a regular jutsu into a landmine seal." _He thought looking at the seal on the ground, _"Now that I think about it, I don't think that's been done before." _Zev knew it had to of, but he couldn't think of any mentions of it being done in his old bingo book. The rest of the seals were tripped. Hitomi and Utsuha were reveled. Kai no Jutsu _is a jutsu that can be used by those who have high chakra control abilities; it cancels out a genjutsu cast on the user, or in the case of Hitomi's seals, the effects on the one who tripped it, _Zev thought, recalling his old training.

Utsuha and Hitomi were revealed. Hitomi didn't look good. Utsuha looked much better than her. Utsuha walked up to her, "Do you give up? I'd rather not have to truly fight you."

She laughed, "If you're going easy on me because I'm a girl you've got a rude awakening ahead." She said. She jumped up and attacked Utsuha. Utsuha blocked it easily. He couldn't help but smile. Trying to catch Zev really helped. He threw her. She slid along the ground. She grabbed two scrolls out of a pouch. She opened them up. She bit her finger making it bleed. She slid her finger across the scrolls. Zev knew what she was doing. She couldn't use any jutsus because Utsuha would copy them so she was using scrolls to try and beat the sharingan. Before she could finish activating the scrolls, Utsuha tackled her.

He pinned her down, "Just give up. Please." He ordered. She pushed Utsuha off.

Utsuha made some hand signs,_ "Katon Housenka no jutsu!" _He shouted performing the jutsu; he breathed out fire and burned all of Hitomi's scrolls."Now do you give up?" As her answer she started making hand signs. Utsuha guessed what she was doing and was able to copy her movements before she was able to do it, _"Doton, Doryuudan no jutsu!" _The ground underneath them gave way and a giant dragon made out of mud rose up and attacked Hitomi. Hitomi was unconscious.

Kankuro checked on Hitomi, she'd be alright, even when he simply copied her Utsuha held back. He went through the motions of proclaiming Utsuha winner. Utsuha walked over and picked up Hitomi and carried her to her squad mates. He came back over to Zev. Sashii walked up and said, "That was nice of you." She looked back at the screen.

"Thanks." Utsuha said looking at the screen as well.

Sashii's name appeared, "Looks like your up, good luck." he said smiling. The other name was Yukio. Yukio jumped down, "Look at his eyes, don't they seem angry?" Utsuha asked Zev who nodded. Sashii jumped down unfurling her wings. She floated down a few feet away from Yukio

Kankuro signaled the start of the match. Sashii flapped her wings and floated up. She stayed above Yukio's ideal distance for throwing weapons. That didn't stop Yukio from trying. Sashii didn't have to put in much effort, Zev's aim was much better than Yukio's. Yukio made some hand signs. A burst of water shot out from the ground at Sashii. It wasn't as fast as his weapons but the size of the water blast made it slightly more difficult to dodge. _"Mizuheiki no jutsu, he used that move a lot when we were still friends." _Zev thought, drawing on his memories of fighting him. He used the move quite a few more times before giving up on it. Sashii began making hand signs of her own.

"_Kazehane no Jutsu!" _She shouted. She swept her hand out across the arena. The wind gust tore up the ground. Yukio dodged barely. Yukio sent up another blast of water. Sashii sent a gust of wind which blew back the water. Yukio was hit. Sashii didn't stop; she kept sweeping back and forth with her jutsu. After several minutes of a brutal beating, he managed to get away. He looked like he was on his last legs. He began making hand signs and mouthing words. Zev shook his head, Yukio signed his defeat.

"_Arashi, ameryuuu no jutsu!" _Yukio shouted. He held out his hands. Clouds rolled out of his sleeves. They formed into a dragon. Then it attacked Sashii.

"_Kazekan no jutsu!" _Sashii responded. The whirlwind sent the dragon back at Yukio. Yukio was trapped in the cloud. Sashii saw bright lights emanating from the cloud. Lightning crossed Yukio's body. Yukio screamed. Zev knew what it felt like to be in that dragon. It wasn't like a normal dragon type technique. It felt like you whole body was cramping. Each successive lightning jump increased the pain several fold. When the cloud cleared, Yukio was unconscious.

Zev spoke aloud to Keishin, "That was his strongest move… but I never would have thought he'd try it against an opponent like this."

"I don't think he did." Zev looked at Keishin, "When I look at him, I don't see a man, I see a demon. It's funny to look at. I can see it perfectly, it's a wolf made out of fire. I see it in almost all of those ninja from the rain."

"Lobo…." Zev breathed the name silently.

He heard the fire wolf enter his thoughts, _"Yes?" _It said mockingly. Zev response was to send a flurry of violent images to what he would do to the wolf given a chance, _"I got the picture," _and he felt the wolf leave his thoughts. Zev was a little shook up, because he never thought that the wolf could enter his thoughts. Although Zev could enter his thoughts, he never really thought about the wolf that shared its name with his brother.

Keishin looked at Zev, "Are you alright?" She asked sensing his feelings. Sashii walked back up the stairs.

"I will be eventually." Then he added in his mind, _I hope…. _

Sashii smiled walking up the stairs, "That wasn't so bad, but I didn't do so well as Saken though…."

"Your opponent was much tougher than Saken's," Zev stated.

"Are you sure?" Sashii asked.

Zev looked at Utsuha he had gone over to talk to Osona, "I'm sure, I was the one who taught him most of the time."

Sashii looked back at the screen, "Looks like Leta's up." She said as the screen showed her name.

Zev breathed a silent prayer as he saw the other name, Emiko. "No…." was all Zev could say. He looked at Leta, she was scared, _Please don't try to fight her,_ Zev pleaded silently. He couldn't say anything in order to avoid being detected, but he decided it was worth it. Keishin grabbed him.

"Tengin, I know you want to stop her, but you can't! Emiko will notice you. She probably be suspicious, also Leta might not listen to you if you don't mention that you're you! She'll have to make the decision on her own…."

Zev turned and looked at Leta again, _Zev, help me out! I can't let her go!_

The wolf answered, _"Keishin is right, Zev, you can't do anything. It's all up to her, just trust in her. She does take after you after all." _Zev wasn't comforted; he saw Leta's hand shaking. Emiko was waiting. Leta brought her finger to her lip, a gesture Zev was taught to recognize. It was one of fear.

_But if Lobo, not just the human one but the demon too, is influencing Emiko, Emiko won't be pulling her punches!_

"_Zev, relax. Remember when you went into Leta's dream?" _Zev pictured himself nodding, "_I still have a small remnant of my self in her, I can't tell her anything but with Kuuybi's chakra I can't get bits and pieces of her thoughts from her. She's split right now; one part wants to run, the other wants to fight Emiko because she abandoned you." _Leta brought her hand away from her lip and clenched her fist. She jumped down, _"She knows somewhere you're watching and she wants you to be proud of her." _Leta activated her byakugan.

Zev heard another thought, _"Zev, please, watch me!" _it was Leta's thought.

Zev relaxed a bit, _Go for it, Leta! _He thought. Emiko strutted over smiling at some of the people looking at her. _Emiko would have never done that before, _Zev thought. She leaned in close to Leta. She said something which Zev couldn't hear. Leta's response was to throw a punch in her face. Lightning shot out of her hand. _Saceno no Jutsu… _Zev thought, _looks like Kankuro doesn't need to signal the start of this fight._ Leta followed her punch and ran toward the downed Emiko. Emiko got up and dodged a punch. She put her hand on Leta. Zev nearly shouted. He had fought with Emiko before, as allies. He knew what she was doing. It was a jutsu._ Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu, _an art where the user sucks the chakra out the opponent's chakra through the palm. But unlike the normal blue aura around the hand, this was red and much more erratic. She was using a forbidden jutsu. This version of the same jutsu but many more times more deadly.

Emiko got her palm on Leta's back. Leta screamed and turned. She punched Emiko. Lightning shot out of her hand and followed Emiko. Zev gripped the hand rail in front of him. _Emiko would never use that jutsu! At least, the Emiko I knew…, _Zev thought. Keishin looked at Zev, she saw his distress, then at the handrail breaking under his grip, and didn't know what to do. Leta made the shadow clone jutsu. Four clones, all the clones rushed Emiko. _No! Keep one back to defend your self! _Zev shouted to her in his mind. Emiko blasted through the clones and grabbed Leta's forehead. Her hand was still emanating the wild red aura. Leta screamed. The clones ran back and blasted Emiko off Leta.

"What's she doing?" Keishin asked, "She can't take that beating for long."

"She can." Zev said, "That's a much deadlier version of _Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu, _she's not just draining Leta's chakra, but her life force!" Zev breathed the last bit out. His knuckles were turning white from gripping the handrail so tightly, which was barely in one peice. _Emiko, what are you now? _He asked again without speaking.

Three of the clones attacked Emiko. Leta learned her lesson and kept one back. Zev noticed she flipped the position of her and her clone, compared to what you'd normally want to defend your self. Emiko burst out of the clones again. She grabbed the wrong Leta and the clone vanished. Leta punched Emiko. Emiko was sent flying with lightning trailing after. Two of the clones attacked. Leta was forward of the clone. This time the clones managed to hold Emiko for a second. Emiko put her hand on one clone, causing the clone to disappear. She then attacked the other in the same fashion. She charged Leta again. She picked the wrong one yet again. Leta punched her. Emiko went flying. Emiko landed on her feet and ran back. She went for Leta's heart. _No! If she connects, Leta will die! _Zev almost jumped down there, except for two things. The first was Keishin grabbed his shoulder. The second was it was too late.

Emiko smiled, "She's done." Then she screamed as Leta punched her, "What? You should be dead!"

Now it was Leta's turn to smile, "Look at your wrist." She pointed, Emiko looked at it. There were small bruises around her wrist, "I hit your keirakukei around your wrist. Or rather, my clones did." Emiko swore and stood up.

Zev was glad Leta had nailed Emiko's keirakukei. _I fear Emiko will use some other jutsus that are forbidden. _Emiko proved his fear. She made hand signs, _Oh no, not that! _The hand rail was beginning to break. _Leta won't survive! _

When the hand signs were finished Emiko shouted, "_Shinu, Shitaryuu no jutsu!_" a dragon that appeared to be made out of light appeared behind her. Emiko ran to the other side of the room to avoid the dragon

_Damn you Lobo! _Zev thought as the dragon reared up, _Damn you, _the dragon smashed into Leta, "look at what you've caused." Zev said. He didn't realize it at first, but he was crying.

"What the hell?" Saken shouted,

"What is that?" Keishin asked.

"Death's dragon," Zev said.

"Not the dragon, look at Leta!" Saken shouted.

Zev looked up, "Wow…." Leta was still standing and behind her was a nine tailed fox. Zev could see in its eyes it wasn't conscious. Soon after Zev looked at the fox, the amazing effect disappeared. Leta fell on her hands and knees. She was physically unscathed. Emiko rushed her.

Kankuro held up a hand, "The fight is over! Emiko is the winner!" Emiko didn't' stop. She drew a kunai. He reached for a scroll.

"She's going to kill her!" Keishin shouted. Zev jumped down.

"Stop!" He ordered, "The match is over, you've won. There is no need to end her life." He said as he drew his swords. Zev wasn't the one talking anymore, if he was, we probably would have given himself away.

"Move out of my way!" Emiko shouted at him.

"Or what?" Zev asked, "You can't beat me. If you wish to prove otherwise, I'd suggest staying in the exam."

Leta looked up, she saw Zev's aura seeming to bear down on Emiko's. Emiko put away her knife, "I look forward to killing you."

"I doubt you can." Zev said turning back to Leta. He checked on her, "We should get the medic core to look at you." He signaled for them to come. Kankuro walked up to him.

"Thanks, I'm not sure I would have been able to summon one of my puppets quick enough. She's fast." He said looking at Emiko. He still had the scroll in his hands.

"You're a puppet master?" Zev asked, kneeling down next to Leta, "Where's the Medic core?" he shouted.

Kankuro looked for the medics, "Do you think you can take her? I have no idea where they are. Give them a lecture for me."


	21. Chapter 21 breather from the exam

Author's notes My bad, this is the chapter where Naruto uses rasengan, also, my bad, I should have put up another chapter by now.

Disclaimer look at any chapter

Chapter 21 Breather from the Exam

Zev nodded, and picked Leta up. Leta held on to him. He saw out of the corner of his eye Osona moving down along with Utsuha, Sashii, and Saken. Niku had yet to fight and couldn't come with. Zev looked at Emiko. He saw Jada walking down the stairs. Emiko turned and said something to him. From his face, Zev figured he was pissed off. Emiko turned and continued walking.

Zev got Leta to the medical room. Zev set her down on the bed, he looked around. No one was there. It was quiet. Osona walked in and he walked out. He looked in the other rooms. No one was there. Saken asked Zev, "What is it?"

"Something is… not… right…." Zev said walking down checking more rooms, he looked at the floor. Blood went into one of the rooms. He opened that door and found Suoh. He wasn't looking good. His shirt was covered in blood.

"Help me…." He pleaded.

Zev brought chakra to his finger tips and activated his eye, "What the hell is going on?" He asked as he patched up some of the minor things that he could handle.

"I don't know, there was a loud explosion and all the doctors had to leave."

"Saken, get in here now!" Zev shouted and he went back to Suoh, "Sorry my medic skills are awful compared to what you need, do you know anything else?"

Suoh shook his head, "I just remember hearing something like a snake slithering on by."

"Which way to Jin's room?" Zev asked as Saken came in, saw Suoh and ran back to Osona.

"Keeping going down the hall, take a right and turn down the next hall to the right and go to the end. I heard them mention a patient there and there's a map on the wall there." Suoh nodded in the direction of the map. Osona came back in and took over. Zev ran to Jin's room. When he approached he heard a snake hissing.

He kicked open the door. Jin was scared, but paralyzed. A giant snake was planning on eating her. Zev cut it down. The snake opened up and a medic core ninja was in it. He stood up covered in snake gut. Zev ran out and used _Relatzer no Jutsu _to look for more snakes. He found two more near by. Both had eaten a ninja. Fortunately for everyone, they hadn't been fully digested yet. Zev used up all his _Relatzer no jutsus _and had to search the rest of the building on his own speed. He was surprised to find quite a few other people there. Some were patients but most of the people he saw were the doctors, ones who weren't qualified to help in the exam. He wondered how they couldn't notice a few giant snakes.

Zev cut down three more snakes. He found them near the area he had started from. One didn't have a ninja inside, but the others did. One of the ninja had suffocated inside. Zev paused and took a closer look. The others had survived, why didn't this one. He looked very closely. The neck had three sets of two pair punctures. "_Duck!"_

Zev obeyed the wolf without question. Three snakes whipped over head.Zev turned and saw that man he'd fought in the desert before. "Who the hell are you?"

"The name's Orochimaru. What's yours?"

"I don't feel like telling you." Zev said as he drew his swords, and created a whirlwind in the hall. The guts from the snake shot into Orochimaru's face. He wiped his face clean. Zev was already gone.

"I do enjoy a good hunt…." He said and started after Zev. Zev had gone down the hall and jumped into the ceiling. There was a hallow space in between the upper level and the ceiling. "Come out, come out…." The man said laughing. Zev dropped down and tried to slit Orochimaru's throat. He was stopped by a sword flying at his face. Orochimaru turned. Zev felt a pulse in his shoulder. He fell on his knees. Orochimaru got a glimpse of the seal. "You sealed it yourself? Maybe you will be useful…" He turned, "I think I'll let you live." He looked back over his shoulder, "You never know when you need another pawn…" He walked off laughing. Zev reached down and threw a black senbon into his shoulder. Orochimaru turned with an angry glare, "For that you'll die!"

Zev heard a man shout, "_Rasengan!"_ Orochimaru managed to dodge the attack from the Hokage. The jutsu blew through more rooms and walls then Zev thought possible. Zev did a double take when he saw the damage to the surrounding rooms.

"I should have killed you all those years ago." He said as he disappeared.

Naruto was about to chase after him when Zev said, "Leave him, he's poisoned." Zev stood up gripping his shoulder. He let go of his shoulder when The Hokage turned, "What are you doing here?" Zev asked.

"I came to see how my daughter is doing."

"She's in one of the rooms. I'll show you." Zev said straightening. The pain had subsided. Suddenly another burst of pain shot out, _Zev? _

"_Okay, I'll stop, when it activated during the fight I decided to try to continue changing it." _

_Do it some other time, okay? _Zev led the Hokage to the room with his daughter in it.

"Leta!" The Hokage shouted. Everyone in the room turned, Osona, Utsuha, Sashii, Saken, and Niku were in there.

Zev heard someone in the corner say, "Hey!" quietly. He looked over and it was Jada. Zev walked over, "I've seen a few more medics, so did you find out what happened?"

"Something to do with an Orochimaru…."

"Orochimaru!"

"I don't remember ever talking about him."

Jada pulled out a small booklet, "Here, remember this?"

"My bingo book!" He flipped though, "Oh… Shit…."

"Yeah, oh shit is right. He's a class S security risk. There are only the Kages who are also S class risks, but at least they're inside the law."

_As much as you can be when you do assassinations for a living, _Zev thought

"Tengin, that's not good. You didn't fight him did you?"

Zev nodded, "Twice."

"Damn. How'd you survive?"

"I don't know he said he might have a use for me."

"That sucks for him. You won't be easily toyed with. Especially since you know he's trying to."

"Tengin… can you come… over here?" Leta asked from behind the others. Zev walked over, "Was… was Zev watching?"

Zev nodded, _"You can tell her." _the wolf said.

"He said he's really proud of you."

"Really?"

"At least something a long those lines," Zev said smiling and shrugged. Then he looked at Niku, "You had to yet to fight who won?"

Niku sighed, "Kaida did. You know where I can find some food around here?" Osona laughed. Niku looked at the map on the wall.

The Hokage spoke up, "I suppose we should tell the Kazekage about the security risk… I'll be back, believe it!"

He walked out, Niku followed right after he found the cafeteria. Saken turned to Sashii, "Let's go watch the last of the fights." Sashii nodded and followed Saken out.

"Hey wait! I'll go with you!" Utsuha shouted chasing after. The only ones left were Jada, Osona, and Leta.

"Tengin, do you know where Zev is?" Osona asked. He nodded, "Why haven't I seen him?"

"He's disguised." Zev couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, _you couldn't figure that out? _

"Is he still in it?"

"He is," Jada said for Zev.

"And who are you?" Osona asked pointing at Jada.

"I am, was, Zev's sensei. Those swords he has were made by me."

"He's trust worthy." Zev added, "Me and Zev are good friends. We spent a lot of time with Jada."

Leta activated her byakugan, she turned beet red. "I… uh… I… uh, uh… believe them…." She said stuttering.

"If you were Zev's old sensei, can we talk for a bit?" They walked out of the room.

"You're Zev." Leta said. Zev turned, "I can see your aura…, you aura's different… compared to anyone."

"_Well, you're caught…," _The wolf said tauntingly.

_Shut up! _Zev rubbed the back of his head, "So you caught me… don't tell anyone okay?" Leta nodded, "So, now that you know it's me, want to tell me something?" He asked laughing.

Leta turned even redder, "Ah… ah… ah…." She couldn't get it out.

"It's okay," Zev started when a medic ninja came in.

"Sorry for the wait, there was an explosion and a lot of injures." He continued making excuses for a long time.

"It's okay, just shut up and check on her!" Zev shouted at him after about five minutes of explanation.

"Sorry, it's just that…."

Zev cut him off, "Do your job!"

"Right…." Zev stayed in the room with Leta. He saw several ninja run to the arena. "This is strange…," the medic said aloud.

"What's strange?"

"Well, it looks like she should be dead, like everything died, but even stranger is that everything's repairing at a faster rate than normal." He handed a chart to Zev. Zev looked at it.

"I never was good at all this medical mumbo jumbo…."

"Look here, that's where her vital signs were," he said pointing at the start of a line on the chart, "That red line above it is where most people begin to die." Leta's starting point was well below. The ninja traced the line, "That's the fastest recovery I've seen." He reached for another chart. "I'm so going to get yelled at for this, but here." It was another chart of someone else, "That's what normally happens." The line on this chart didn't get to Leta's point till five pages later, "Actually that's one of the fast recoveries." He held up another chart it was very thick almost like a book, "This is a chart from someone who was close to that red line."

"So is this a good thing?" Zev asked, he guessed it was.

"Yes she could go right now. I'm not needed here and others need my attention."

"How are Suoh and Jin? I went by they're rooms earlier and no one was helping them."

"They're healing already. From what I under stand you healed Suoh a little correct?" Zev nodded, "You really should study being a medical ninja, your techniques seemed to stay in the body and continue healing for a while even after you've been gone." The ninja walked off.

_Was that you Zev? _

"_Yes it was, I added a little of my own chakra into yours." _

Leta stood up and Zev looked at her. She didn't look happy. She walked over to Zev, "Zev… do… you… you know…." She pleaded in her mind, _please say yes, please!_

Zev put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, "Yes, I do," Leta smiled and hugged him, but to him, the words seemed to carry no meaning. He could feel her heartbeat. He noticed that his wasn't beating like hers. _Zev, how do I restore that connection to my emotions? _

"_Just ask…," _then Zev felt a rush. His heat started beating rapidly. He looked at Leta and it was like his view of her was magnified a hundred fold. He held on to her tightly. He heard the foot falls of the medic ninja.

"Leta, I still need to keep disguised. If somehow someone makes a connection that I'm Zev and I'm related to the leaf village…." He trailed off. He didn't need to say what could happen.

"You're… you're right…." Let said taking a step back, "I'm sorry…."

"Don't be." Zev said and grabbed her hand as he did so. He looked out the door and saw one of the Ninja on Yukio's team go by on a stretcher. "Maybe we should go back now." Leta nodded and went out.

"Uh… which way?" She asked.

"This way," Zev said walking down the hall. Leta followed him.


	22. Chapter 22 Chuunin Exams Prelims end

Author's notes: Nothing really, I don't know why, but everytime I read the part where Zev talks about Lobo's first death, I laugh. It wasn't supposed to be funny, yet I still laugh...

Discalimer, look at any other chapter

Chapter 22 Chuunin Exam prelims end.

When Leta and Zev got to the arena another ninja was being carried out. The Hokage stood next to the Kazekage. All the prelim winners stood in a line in front of them. Leta walked up the stairs and on to the balcony above. Zev stood in line. "Ah good just in time." The Kazekage started, "We're just about to draw numbers." Kankuro carried a box with a hole in it. Zev was first to draw a number. He got eleven. He looked over at the others. Keishin got five. Saken got six. Utsuha got one. Sashii got three. Emiko got ten. He ignored the others as unimportant. Keishin looked at Zev.

"You seem different… I don't see that split in you anymore." She commented. The others got their numbers, and they were asked to read off their number. As they did so he noticed Kankuro writing something down. After all the numbers were read, Kankuro showed what he was writing. It was a tournament.

Zev's first opponent was Emiko. Utsuha's first was a Kunochi named Kaida. Sashii was going to face the lucky one first, Kohona. Kohona didn't fight in the prelims. Saken was going to face Keishin. Utsuha would be in the very first round. Utsuha raised a hand, "Wait, if this is a tournament, will they're be only one who becomes a Chuunin?"

The Hokage shook his head, "No, there will be judges who will watch your fights. Depending on how good you do, you might become a chuunin."

Emiko shouted, "Then what's the purpose for the tournament?"

The Kazekage answered, "It's so that all the countries may show off their ninja."

"There will be a one month period to train your self or to relax. No doubt some of you had to reveal some of your jutsus. So you can use this period to study on others or to learn some new tricks. I advise making the most out of this time." The Hokage explained after the Kazekage, "The finals will be held in the arena outside the village hidden in the sand.

Then Kazekage said "Those who aren't from here I suggest finding someone to show it to you."

Everyone started leaving. Utsuha walked over to Sashii, "Can you show me this arena?"

"Sure, but I need to get as much training as possible, so how about I just bring you there when it's time?"

Zev walked up, "We can all go together." Keishin was following him.

"That's a good idea," Saken said, "because I kind of forgot where it is…."

"I'll meet you guys in a month; I want to do some training on my own." Zev said and walked off. Leta followed him.

Osona went down and congratulated Utsuha, "Good job getting this far, but these next opponents won't be so easy."

Niku blurted out, "What about taking us out to eat?"

Osona turned, "I don't remember anything about that…."

"Oh no, you don't! You said you would." Utsuha started shouting remembering.

"I believe I said maybe."

Jada walked up and said, "I'll buy. I need to stay away from Emiko she's in one of her moods, thanks to Tengin stopping her."

Osona quickly agreed she looked around, "Where's Leta?"

"I think she followed Tengin." Jada said. Leta came back.

"Zev… is… going to meet us. At…at…at the front gate, can we get going?" Osona nodded, Leta led the group out.

_I haven't seen Leta run that fast before. _Osona thought as she tried to keep up with Leta.

Zev was waiting at the front gate of the village. Leta came early riding on a satigre. The others weren't as fast. Leta was there a full ten minutes compared to the others. Zev changed into his regular clothes. He wore the pants and shirt that the color could be changed with chakra. He made the pants and shirt a tan color to help ward off the heat. He also wore a tan bandana over his head to hide the white hair which might attract attention. Leta jumped off the satigre and it disappeared. Zev felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her. It was odd. He never had felt like that before. It was addicting.

Leta ran up and hugged him. Zev hugged her back. He could feel his heart beginning to race, "It's good to see you again."

"You saw me today…." Leta giggled.

"That wasn't me." Zev said shrugging, "Where are the others?"

Leta turned, "They… they were right behind me…."

Zev activated his eye, "They're quite a ways behind. The satigres look tired." He stated. He looked at Leta and smiled. She blushed, "Why did you fight Emiko?" he asked.

"Well… I… guess… because…um…." Leta trailed off tapping her index fingers together.

"Because she hurt me?" Zev asked a little more pointedly. Leta nodded, "Leta," he put a hand on her shoulder, "Next time something like that happens, please don't fight unless me or Utsuha can help. I almost revealed myself during the fight. I don't think I've been that scared before," he realized as he said that, he wasn't actually scared, he was more furious at his own inability to help her.

"I'm sorry… I just wanted you to be proud of me…." Leta said her head beginning to droop.

"I am proud of you… it's just that, Emiko isn't herself. Those jutsus she was using are forbidden. They are very taxing on the user and they're almost a hundred percent for fatalities. The only time I've heard of one surviving is when I watched you today." He looked up and saw the others coming closer. He had yet to deactivate his eye. He did so now, "They're going to be here soon."

A few minutes later, Utsuha rounded the corner, "Leta, don't go so fast, it's hard for all of us to keep up." Osona and Jada followed him, "Oh, hi, Zev, long time no see." Sashii, Saken and Niku followed behind Jada.

"Hey there Zev, how are the swords working out for you?"

"Good." Zev said, "How is it going in the village hidden in the rain?"

"Not so good, Lobo's crazy, but you and I already knew that. Everyone treats him like a king; he's using everything to further this alliance. He clams it's for peace but I don't believe him."

"Because a Shinobi's life can never have peace, correct?"

Jada shrugged and nodded, "I guess."

Niku piped up, "When is dinner?"

Utsuha sighed, "Is food all you think about?"

"No, sometimes I think about sleep."

Zev pointed off to the right, "I think there is a good place to eat over there. They do things special for large groups, so it'd be best."

"And light on my wallet I hope." Jada said, "Lead the way." It wasn't that long of a walk to the restaurant. Sashii clapped her hands when they got there.

"Oh, I remember hearing about this place. I heard it's very good, but it's best to have a group of five or more. There are only three members in my family. If include my whole clan, we have way more than enough, but a lot of them like to cook their own food so we never got to eat here."

Jada went up to the place and asked to see if they had room for a group of eight. They were seated immediately. They ordered what they wanted as a group. Leta and Zev ordered beef to share. Sashii and Utsuha both ordered a swordfish. Saken and Niku planned to eat what ever anyone else got. Jada and Osona planned on a nice salad, a nice cheap salad. The whole meal came with rice and hot and sour soup for all.

Jada asked Sashii, "You said something about a clan, what is it?"

"My clan is the Hizuru clan; we have only a few jutsus. In fact there are so few that we're almost not even considered a kekkei genkai clan. I've only mastered one of our four jutsus. _Mokushin no Jutsu _is the only one I can do. Fortunately I don't have a dependency on my clan's jutsus, like my father." She paused, "You said something about Lobo dying and coming back to life, what's that about?"

"It was a dark and stormy night, like any other night at my village, it's kind of like that way when it rains three-hundred-forty-four days a year," Zev started, all eyes were on him, "Me and Lobo were both six. At the time Lobo was just like me, we thought exactly alike. If one of us had trouble finishing a sentence the other could finish it." He laughed once and continued, "That night, our father wanted to take us on a mission with him, to sort of lets get a feel for it. It was a simple mission gathering some herbs for a doctor in the village. The doctor wasn't feeling good that day but he needed them. We went out excited. We gathered a lot of herbs, maybe a little extra. But on the way back, we were attacked by a group of bandits. We should have just let our father take care of it. He could have. But we were idiots, smart ones, but still idiots. Lobo and I charged them. I was better at Lobo when it came to fighting. I took two easy. Lobo," He sighed, "Lobo was beaten badly. He bit one and the bandit got mad. The bandit took a knife and slit his throat. Lobo did a jutsu that all the Alcidos learn. It took care of all the bandits. But it was too late. He was already dead when everything cleared. My father was crying over his body, I stood off to the side. For some reason, when someone died back then I was unaffected. I'd seen it before and I knew he wasn't coming back. Suddenly he coughed, and he sat up. When he opened his eyes, they weren't their normal blue, but they were blood red. His hair slowly turned red afterwards. During that time we drew farther and farther apart, we eventually grew to hate each other. Twice we had gotten into fights where we tried to kill each other. I spared him both times." They were all silent. The story had put a dampener on their mood. Niku's stomach broke the silent somber mood.

"I'm hungry." He stated.

"Didn't you have like three bags of chips on the way here?" Jada asked.

"That was like, five minutes ago." Niku whined.

"Relax the food should be here soon." Osona said.

"I want it now…." Niku said trailing off. Osona just sighed.

When they got the food, they found out why it was best to bring five people at a time. The servings were huge. They planned on sharing something between two people, but even five people would be hard charged to finish one of the orders. Whatever they couldn't eat they gave to Niku and Utsuha. Zev finally got that eating contest he had thought about doing before the chuunin exams. The result was a tie. They finished everything and had room for more.

Walking out everyone was stuffed except the two human garbage disposals Utsuha and Niku. Jada was very happy that the meal for all of them didn't put too much of a dent in his wallet. Osona was very happy that for once she didn't have to pay. Zev turned, "I guess I'll meet you all tomorrow."

Leta nodded, "I… I hope so…." She said smiling.

Zev smiled, "Bye." He said, a whirlwind picked up and he disappeared in the sand.

"He's gotten really good using the environment as an advantage." Sashii said.

"You have no idea how good he really is," Jada said, "in fact, he probably does it without a conscious effort."

"What do you think the chances are of one of us facing Zev in the finals?"

"I think that one of you will face him, maybe he'll let himself fail, but he might win without trying."

"Why would he fail?" Sashii asked.

"He probably wants to avoid hell falling on the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Jada said shrugging, "Not that I really know. I was his sensei, not a mind reader, so I don't really know but that's what I think he's thinking."

Zev was still watching the others, hidden, "You're right on the mark," he said whispering to himself, "and that hell will come if Lobo realizes I'm with the Leaves, which means I have to win, but maybe I won't have to," he sighed, "we'll see."


	23. Chapter 23 The Final Rounds

Author's notes Well, nothing, I wanted to do somethign a little diffrent from the summoning of frogs and other things that have already been done, so I came up with chakra pacts and dragons, wyverns and Demon Wolves (My favorite)

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter

Chapter 23 The Final rounds

A month later it came time to continue the exam. Zev had once again assumed the guise of Tengin. Leta knew who Zev was pretending to be and couldn't help but get excited every time he came near her. She felt like she was being tortured but she was fine with it. She knew he felt the same way.

Zev was undergoing his own torture. He had to constantly remove the connection between his emotions and his conscious self. It was much more difficult to keep himself from his feelings for Leta that he now knew he had, _I almost wish I didn't restore it now, _he thought.

"_No you don't," _The wolf thought, _"You're glad you did. You're kind of enjoying this."_

_Okay maybe a little, _Zev admitted. He was waiting in the arena. It was hidden underneath the sand. Sashii had some difficulty locating it. It was dark in there. It reminded Zev of a tomb. It had torches along the walls. Zev actually liked the feel in the arena. It was cool, it felt small yet was very large, but sand was all over the stone floors. Some areas had the sand swept away. The stones there were like all the other stones; a blue color that seemed almost black when light didn't shine right on it. Zev didn't like that he couldn't escape the sand even here. Just thinking about all the sand made his mouth go dry.

They were all led to an area about thirty feet from the ground, "It seems kind of small." Sashii stated.

"This is for the combatants only," Their guide explained, "the viewing area for everyone else is further up."

Leta turned, "May I…may I… stay here with Utsuha, my teammate?"

Their guide shrugged, "I'm not supposed to but I don't see any thing wrong with it." Osona, Niku, and Jada were led out. Leta turned to see Zev jump out the window. She ran over and saw that he used chakra control to stick himself to the wall. He walked up a bit. He looked around and came back down.

"No one's there," Zev said, "pull up a chair it might be a while." He looked around he couldn't find any chairs.

Sashii walked over to a spot on the wall. She spread out her wings and flapped them, causing sand to be blown into everyone's face. "Sorry." She said as she folded her wings. She looked at a stone on the wall. It had a strange marking on it. She bit her finger and smeared blood over. Nothing happened. She sighed. Zev came over and put his hand on it. He released a small amount of chakra. The stone began to move. When the bricks finished moving they made a chair. Zev found other seals on the walls just like that one. He did the same for each one of the seals. When he had finished there were eleven chairs total.

Zev looked out the window again. He couldn't shake the feeling he'd seen this spot before. He heard Leta gasp. He looked back. She was very pale. "This… this… this place!" She stuttered out.

Utsuha put a hand on her shoulder, "Leta, relax!"

"I've… I've… I've seen it before!"

"Where?"

"I… I had nightmares about it… for weeks before that mission, with Dosu."

_Dosu… who's that again? Oh yea the Target, _Zev thought.

"What about it?" Utsuha asked.

"I kept having… the same dream… I kept fighting these… things… everyone was watching from above."

"Yea?"

"Well… once Zev came with us… I had one dream… where he jumped down and began fighting with me. He… he turned and said… that I didn't need to fight alone. Then you and Niku came in and we fought together. The next morning… he said I didn't need to fight alone… like he had been in the dream…."

_I wish I could tell you I was right now…, _Zev walked up to Leta, "Well you don't need to fight right now. It's just us and the others," When Zev finished the others came in including Emiko.

She walked right up into his face, "I can't wait to kill you," she said smiling. Leta wanted to say something but she was scared. This wasn't the woman that had shown up at her house before she graduated. Emiko turned to face her, "Well look who it is… I suppose you're still mad about what I told you, huh?"

Sashii and Utsuha stepped between them, "What was it you told her?" Utsuha demanded.

"I told her Zev is dead. We found his vest and forehead protector," She touched her forehead protector. Neither Zev nor anyone else noticed before but it was stained, "This was his…," She finished laughing.

Utsuha moved to punch her. Zev stopped him, "She's all mine…" he said to Utsuha. Emiko laughed.

It finally came time to begin the matches. Zev was surprised that no one tired to kill each other before it started. After the Kages finished their speech about the exams the examiner turned. "We're starting in reverse order. Emiko, Tengin, you two stay down here everyone else go back up into the waiting room." Zev looked up to the room. Leta was looking down on him with her byakugan. He cracked his neck.

Emiko turned and looked at him. She couldn't wait to bring him down. She smiled as the examiner began going through the motions of starting the match. Zev made some hand signs. She charged and held out her hand. He created an orb in his hand and held it out in his palm. _Whatever…, _she thought. Her move allowed her to simply absorb the attack into her chakra. Zev smiled. She suddenly felt like she was being torn apart. She grabbed her sides, "What the hell!" she screamed, as it exploded inside her.

Zev kicked her away. He pulled out his swords. In order to keep his self from revealing anything he had switched his swords. These had no edge and were designed to absorb chakra easily. He avoided using his lightning chakra. He charged her. The blades cut her skin but didn't do anything major. Even though she tried to kill him, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. He didn't stop himself from beating her up quite a bit. After a long beating and many failed attempts to block his blows Emiko got away. Emiko took out a scroll and bit her finger. She spread her blood out along the center of the scroll. There was a small explosion and water poured out of a tiny cloud. The water made a large puddle in the arena. She stomped on the water. The water splashed up and shot senbon made out of water flying at Zev. Zev rolled and dodged them. She stomped again. More water senbon shot out. Zev punched the water. Senbon shot out form where his fist hit the water. The two senbon hit each other and splashed down. Zev made another _fuubakun no jutsu _and made it hit the water. The whirlwind went around the arena. Because of the shape of the arena, it constantly sent senbon flying at the center. Emiko was in the dead center. She constantly screamed as she was nailed by the water senbon. This technique never punctured the skin but it constantly beat down on the opponent. Zev kept feeding more chakra into the whirlwind, but eventually he let it go. He walked right up to Emiko who was sprawled out on the ground.

"Please, give up. Admit defeat."

"Why," she said through gritted teeth, "You could have killed me, why did you spare me?"

"Because I don't want to kill you," Zev told her, "It's as simple as that."

Leta watched the whole thing from above. She saw Zev's aura bearing down on Emiko's. At the end, it seemed Emiko's aura was nearly gone. She looked closer and she could see Emiko crying. The examiner declared Tengin the winner. Zev picked Emiko up and brought her back to the waiting area. He used a simple medical jutsu to heal her cuts and heal some internal things as well. Emiko's aura seemed to dwindle even more, "Why?" she asked him again, "Why are you doing this?"

"Well, I knew Zev," Zev said as he cleaned her up a little more, "I don't think he'd want me to hold a grudge against you. Nor would he want you dead." Emiko's aura disappeared. She broke down and started sobbing. She put her head in her hands. She was crying uncontrollably. Leta put a hand on her back, she didn't know what to do.

Emiko looked at Leta, "I'm so sorry!" her eyes were different, "I don't believe what I've done!" she continued crying, "What have I done?" Zev put an arm over her shoulder. Emiko threw off Zev's old head band. Leta picked it up. Zev looked out the window the next match was between Ai and Keji. Ai made a sandstorm with some jutsu. Sand blew in the window. Zev had to cover his head with his cloak. He brought Emiko, who was still crying, and Leta under it as well.

"I can't see anything!" he shouted over the sandstorm.

"I can see." Leta said, "It looks like Ai's fighting Keji with taijutsu. He's seems really slow!"

"Look closer! Does he have a senbon in him?"

"Yes," she said after looking hard, "He does its yellow." Zev guessed that Ai had stabbed him with it during the sandstorm. Now she was beating him. He wouldn't be able to help himself. Not much later the sandstorm had died down. Zev looked around. Sashii had covered herself Utsuha and Keishin in her wings. Saken was slightly irked about being left out. Everyone else either pulled their forehead protectors over their eyes, or just dealt with the sand.

Saken and Keishin where excited for their match. Zev watched as Keishin used _kirigakure no jutsu. _Zev watched the mist. Even though he couldn't see anything he heard something. It sounded like many things at once. Like the creaking of bones, a slithering sound, and a buzzing sound. He looked closer and he noticed that the mist seemed to move around. He noticed dark shapes appear and disappear in the mist. He sighed. It wasn't that entertaining to watch a fight you can't see. He suddenly heard Saken shout, "_Erai kotsujin no jutsu!" _

_Real smart Saken, tell her your exact location, _Zev thought. He saw a dark and very ominous figure rise up inside the mist, _Okay, maybe that actually was smart._

The figure reached down and picked something up, it looked like a person. It lifted it above its head, and dropped it. Zev thought it looked like it ate the person. The mist began to clear. The giant figure was a giant skeleton. Keishin was inside it where its stomach would be if there were really organs there. Instead there was a blue field. Saken shouted, "You're trapped, you can't get out. Actually if it was done normally you'd be feeding it." he shrugged, "However you're still trapped you can't get out."

"Hey, I'm not done yet!" Keishin said. She began to float and water began flowing around her. It took the form of a dragon and began bouncing around on the inside. When it finished she was standing again, but she wavered, "Okay, now I'm done," and she fell over.

The examiner announced Saken winner. Saken undid the jutsu. The giant skeleton turned to dust. Keishin fell down. Saken moved to catch her but wound up having her fall on him. They got up after some difficulty and came back up.

There was a knock on the door. Zev opened the door. It was Jada, "I came by to see how everyone was doing." He looked at Emiko. She still felt very horrible about killing Zev, "Emiko?" Jada said her name with great concern.

She ran up to him and grabbed his shirt, "Jada, I killed Zev!" She said burying her face in his shirt, "He was one of the only people that believed in me!"

Jada patted her back and motioned for Zev to come with him. Zev looked back at Sashii since her match was next, but she waved him off. They went into another room, "Emiko, are you really sorry about Zev?" Emiko just burst into tears again, "Well why don't you tell him that?" She looked up at him, and he nodded in Zev's direction. She looked back at Zev.

"Hi." Zev said waving and smiling.

"Zev?"

"What? You were expecting Lobo?"

She ran up and hugged him, "I don't know what came over me! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, Zev!"

"It's… okay… Emiko… I… can't…breathe!" he gasped out the last words.

She stepped back with her hands covering her mouth, "I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." Zev said catching his breath.

"I should go tell Yukio you're alive!" she said.

"No!" Jada and Zev shouted. Zev kept going, "Emiko, Lobo seems to influence others around him to serve him. I think Yukio still follows him. I don't know why you got away but when you broke into tears I guessed you broke away from him."

Her head drooped, "When… when I tried to kill you I don't know what I was thinking, but after the fight you fixed me up and told me you wouldn't want me dead, even after what I've done," she stopped for a second and sighed, "I just don't know."

"It's okay," Zev said then he was interrupted by cheering, "But right now we need to get back to the exams."

"Right," She said, "Let's go."

When they got back to the waiting room they found Sashii leaning over the edge of the window as was everyone else. Emiko and Zev looked out the window. Zev could not believe what he saw. He saw one of the rain ninja fighting Utsuha. Utsuha though had summoned two dragons, one made out of clouds and the other made out of mud. The cloud one rushed the ninja, Kaida. Who had put up a barrier of water. The cloud dragon rose up and crashed through the barrier. Utsuha made some hand signs, "_Karyuudan!" _he shouted. He blew fire which the dragon flew through. The dragon started on fire as it flew through the stream of fire. When the effects of the first dragon ended, the second crashed into the paralyzed ninja.

"Ouch…." Zev said aloud. Utsuha wasn't done. He made more hand signs.

"_Katon, Karyuu Endan" _He shouted as he blew fire out of his mouth. The fire took the shape of a dragon and attacked the downed Kaida. The dragon didn't last that long as Utsuha could only blow out so much air with out needing to take another breath. The fire from the third dragon lit the left over earth around Kaida on fire, which only worsened the ninja's predicament.

Zev looked at Leta, "When did he learn those techniques? I'm guessing that he learned the first dragon during the exam watching Yukio. The second one he got while fighting Hitomi, but how did he know that trick with lighting it on fire and the third dragon." Leta looked at him.

"Uh… uh… I'm not sure…."

Sashii spoke up, "Well, unlike a certain slacker," she looked at Saken, "He learned it during that month training period."

Zev heard Ai mutter, "Ryu would love to see this." Zev didn't ask her who Ryu was but Saken did, "Ryu is my sensei, he loves dragons," Ai explained.

The examiner didn't bother proclaiming Utsuha the winner, "What ever, every one can guess who won this…," he said waiving and walking off.

The Kazekage stood up, "We'll continue the matches tomorrow. For now, let's all rest," he walked off and the Hokage followed. Everyone stood up and filed out of the arena.

There was a knock on the door and Zev opened it. It was the guide who showed them to the room. Everyone followed him out. No one said anything and the silence was slightly disturbing. They were shown to another area where their joinin were waiting. There was one joinin talking to Osona. He turned when they came in. He had the Sand village forehead protector on. He ran over and grabbed Utsuha's hand, "You have to show me how to do those dragon techniques!" he said shaking his hand.

"Ryu-sensei!" Ai shouted, "You know who many rules that would be breaking!" she said as she pushed him away from Utsuha.

He sighed, "I hate it when you're right...," he moved away from Ai, "Maybe we can work something out… you scratch my back I scratch yours?" he said about an inch from Utsuha.

Utsuha looked at Osona. Osona didn't know what to do. _This guy is crazy… _Utsuha thought, "Fine," he said sighing, "I think I can teach you one of them…"

Ryu ran around in circles cheering. Ai spoke up, "Great now I'll never get him to shut up."

After hours of trying to get Ryu to be satisfied with just one dragon jutsu, he finally got focused and managed to learn the fire dragon. It took Ai smacking Ryu upside the head to get him to stop cheering and get him to start training Utsuha.

"Right then…," he said rubbing his head where Ai hit him, "Sorry about that I get a little worked up sometimes…," He straightened, "I'm going to teach you to summon a wyvern. I think it will be very useful to you. It's not like the normal _Kuchiyose no jutsu,_ the art of summoning. With_ Kuchiyose no jutsu, _you make a blood pact with an animal. For this summoning, you have to make a chakra pact. It's quite strange now that I think about it," he made some hand signs, "I cut a deal with wyverns and dragons to let me summon those types of dragons, but I can't make a blood pact now. If you choose to only use one type of dragon or any other creature of legend, you can still make a blood pact." He raised his hand to the air, "_Jinryu_ _yubu!_"

There was an explosion of sand out of his hand, a two legged dragon came out of the sand and landed in front of him. The dragon held a scroll in its mouth. It bent forward and placed the scroll on the ground, "You need to write you name with your chakra and make a hand print with it. Just send your chakra to your finger tips and write. The paper will pick it up." Utsuha bent down and did as he said. The paper where he wrote his name the paper burnt for a second then was left black. He looked at the names before him. They included Ryu's and Suoh's. Unlike his, their names were written in a grayish tone. He looked at his then at theirs again as he made the hand print.

"Why are yours and Suoh's names written in grey instead of black like mine?" he asked.

"It's our different chakra types." Ryu began explaining, "His and mine are earth type so the paper aged into a dust. Yours is fire, so it burnt instead. Go ahead and try to summon a wyvern now."

Utsuha was watching with his sharingan so he knew what hand signs to use. He raised his hand to the air and shouted, "_Jinryu yubu_!" fire exploded from his hand. Out of the fire came a dark blue dragon. It flew around roaring. It landed in front of Zev and roared. Zev didn't flinch, and he started into the creature's eyes. It wasn't that much bigger than Zev. He noticed that its eyes were sharingan eyes.

There was quite a long staring contest between Zev and the dragon. The dragon turned and flew behind the other wyvern in the room, "Demon!" it hissed.

"Hey aren't you supposed to listen to me!" Utsuha shouted at it. The dragon looked into his eyes. They were still sharingan. He flew right in front of Utsuha.

"Tired?" it said looking at Utsuha.

"I am a little…," Utsuha said beginning to yawn. The wyvern breathed out a mist on Utsuha, "Whoa!" Utsuha said while shaking his head, "That's much better," It hopped around flapping its wings.

"So, I'm yours and your mine, huh?" It said while hopping around Utsuha, "You and me have the same eyes."

"I've noticed, does that mean you can copy jutsu too?"

Ryu spoke up, "Yes it can, wyverns can do jutsus too. Although, they can't do hand signs. You're going to have to do it for it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Utsuha asked, the wyvern looked up too.

"Try a jutsu."

Utsuha shrugged, "Okay…," he said as he made hand signs, "_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" _Utsuha breathed out a fireball. The wyvern also breathed out a fireball. Its fire ball was much bigger, "Cool!" Utsuha said looking at the wyvern, "do you have a name?"

"My name is Sharu."

"What was that bit about you're mine and I'm yours?"

"Every time you perform the summoning it will be me you get. I was made out of your blood and chakra." it put its wings around Utsuha, "So I'm yours and you're mine." Sharu looked over at Zev, "Demon…," it hissed again.

"I'd prefer that you don't call me demon…." Zev said slightly annoyed.

"You summon demons don't you, demon?"

"It's Tengin and I don't think I've ever summoned a creature." Zev suddenly remembered the time he fell off the rock face, "Oh… I don't remember making a pact…."

"_The pact was made during the first Alcido. You don't have enough chakra to perform it, or rather, your limit prevents it. That's why you were out for so long." _The wolf spoke up.

"It's speaking to you now isn't it?" Sharu hissed.

"This is creepy…."

"Do you deny it?" the creature kept hissing.

"_If you want I can alter the chakra level use so that you can use it. You summon wolf demons. Guess how strong we are." _Zev couldn't help but notice the boasting tone the wolf took on the end.

Zev gave a mental shrug. He felt a change but he couldn't place what changed he tried to summon a creature, _"Taifuutenshi!" _he shouted. He felt like instead of holding his hand out in the air like Utsuha and Ryu he should hold it out in front of him. A white wind shot out of his hand. The creature standing in front of him was a black wolf. It was about waist height. It had only one tail. The wolf looked around and saw Sharu. The wolf tackled it. "I guess I can summon demons." Zev said shrugging, "Hey wolf!" the wolf turned and ran up to Zev.

"You think you can command me?" it started laughing.

"_You don't want to know what will happen to you if you don't…."_

The wolf gave what appeared to be a bow, "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

_Wait, did I summon it or did Zev? _Zev thought.

"He did." the wolf said, "My name is Kurofu, the black wind. You can just call me Kuro."

"_Zev, you know that you can sign another two pacts. Two chakra pacts or one chakra pact and a blood pact, do you want to make a pact with a wyvern?"_

"Please not one of those weaklings…," Kuro said looking back at Sharu.

"Stop reading my mind okay!" Zev shouted at the wolf, "That just freaks me out."

"Get used to it." Kuro said. It seemed to speak twice, once vocally and the other in Zev's head.

"Besides do you have a better idea?"

"No… but it's not like you have enough chakra to summon another creature anyways…." This time he spoke only vocally.

"As much as I hate to admit it you're right. I feel exhausted as is."

"There you see? So don't think about summoning a wyvern."

"What's wrong with wyverns?" Ryu asked the creature, his own wyvern roaring and nodding.

"They're pathetic." Kuro said.

"There are not!"

"Wait till me and Tengin get a chance to show you," the wolf looked up at Zev, "trust me; you're going to love what I can do…."

_How'd he know that I called Tengin? _Zev wondered.

_I can read your mind, baka!_

"Hey!" Zev shouted at the wolf, "Don't call me baka!"

Zev walked into the waiting room with Kuro. He'd grown another tail over night. The wolf who summoned him explained to Zev that Kuro's strength was related to his. Zev asked Kuro, "Did you really have to stay with me?"

"No, but I think I like being out in the world."

"You freak everyone out."

"Well duh, _baka_, anyone who doesn't get freaked out is either very confident or stupid."

Everyone in the room looked at Kuro. They all back away except those who knew Zev. Saken, Sashii, Leta, and Utsuha walked up. Ai also came closer, "I see he got another tail." she stated.

"Yea, somehow he gets stronger as I get stronger," Zev said shrugging, "so his body had to take some time to get at the same level."

Leta kneeled down, "He's so cute!" she said hugging him.

_I can get used to this! _Zev picked up from Kuro's thoughts.

_Watch it, Kuro! _Zev yelled at the wolf without speaking.

_A little jealous? _Zev kicked the wolf in the ribs lightly,_ Okay, okay._ Zev heard the Kazekage announce another day of matches, "Looks like we're up Tengin," the wolf said looking at Zev.

Zev nodded and went down to the arena. Their opponent was Kyoto a Kunochi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, "You said I was going to like what you can do. Now is your chance to prove it." The examiner signaled the start of the match. Kuro howled. Out of his mouth shot a black wind. The wind blasted Kyoto into the wall and knocked her out. The wall shimmered a bright blue for a second.

"Believe me now?" the wolf said turning away.

"That was… quick," Zev said as he went back up being proclaimed winner.

"Yea, a wyvern can't do that," the wolf said as they went back into the room.

Utsuha was getting annoyed with the wolf's dislike of wyverns, "What's wrong with a wyvern? Can you fly? Can you shoot out fireballs? Can you-" Kuro cut him off.

"No I can't fly but who really needs to? And the wyvern isn't shooting out fireballs, you are, it's just mimicking you. Besides," the wolf ran up to Leta. She bent down and started petting him.

"I think you just lost an argument with an animal." Zev said to Utsuha laughing, "You're up by the way." Utsuha ran down to the arena. He was to fight Sashii. Zev leaned on the rail next to Saken, "Where were you yesterday?"

"Oh, me, Leta, and Sashii went off to do some shopping, I don't know why I went with. It's not like I needed to buy anymore weapons."

"So you just got dragged along?"

"Yeah I guess," Saken said shrugging.

"I know what that's like." Zev said remembering having to go shopping with Leta and her mother. He got tired just thinking about it. He looked back at Kuro. Leta was petting him and he had his head in her lap. He looked back down in the arena, "By the way, do you know what that shimmering was?"

The examiner signaled the start of the match. Saken talked as the fight began, "The walls have a seal made in them which prevents them from breaking easily. Since we're underground it could get ugly if a wall was blow apart." Utsuha raised his hand and Sashii flew up. She was slightly at a disadvantage. She couldn't fly around like normal because of the ceiling, but there was still plenty of room to maneuver. Then Utsuha summoned the wyvern. Sharu went straight for Sashii. She had to drop into a freefall to avoid getting slammed against the ceiling. When she was out of his way she turned to face the dragon. She used _Kazekan no jutsu_. The dragon saw and beat his wings. He created his own whirlwind that was much bigger than Sashii's and blew it away. It continued and slammed Sashii. She crashed into the ground. She saw Sharu about to pounce on her. She flew out from under him. She charged Utsuha. Utsuha took a deep breath and blew out a fire ball. She flew up and avoided the fireball, only to fly right into Sharu's. She came out of the fireball burnt. She tried another Jutsu _Kazehane_ _no jutsu. _Utsuha mimicked it, as did Sharu.

"She can't use any genjutsu or ninjutsu. She has to use taijutsu." Saken said.

"That's not good for her then."

"What do you mean?" Saken asked looking at Zev.

Zev kept watching Sashii attempt to avoid Utsuha's and Sharu's mimicked jutsu, "If she gets close Utsuha will force her to fly away and right into Sharu's fireball with his own." Sashii proved his point by doing just that.

"This isn't good." Saken said.

Zev nodded, "Sashii isn't going to be able to win this fight."

Sashii tried to attack again. She got as close to the ground as possible. She flew underneath the wyvern. Utsuha made his fireball. He blew it into the ground. The fire made a wave which rose off the ground. Sashii flew through. She got burned badly. She just about got to Utsuha when she felt a giant claw press her against the ground. Sharu had her pinned. Utsuha walked up and crouched down. Zev couldn't hear him say anything but he saw Sashii shake her head. Utsuha took out a kunai and knocked her out with the pummel. The examiner proclaimed Utsuha the winner. Sharu took his foot off Sashii. He bent over and nudged her a little with his head. He breathed out a mist on her like he did with Utsuha the day before. Her burns healed a little, even her hair was repaired. Utsuha picked her up. Sharu disappeared in a burst of fire. Utsuha carried her up to the waiting area. Leta got up and started working on healing what was left of Sashii's injures. Zev looked up at the Kazekage reaching out at Ryu, with an annoyed look on his face, with the sand.

The examiner came up as well, "Ai, Tengin, you two are fighting next in five minutes. Tengin I don't think you need the five minutes but we're giving it to you because we have to give it to Utsuha. Since you and Utsuha already fought today we're giving you some extra time to recover a little." he went back down into the arena.

Zev looked over at Ai. She didn't seem nervous at all, even though she saw Kuro in action. She probably guessed that Kuro couldn't do that often, _Kuro, can you do that move again? _

_I can, but only about two more times. My limit is three, _the wolf said to Zev mentally, _still once should be enough,_

_Assuming you don't miss._

_Damare, baka! I won't miss!_

_Don't tell me to shut up, and stop calling baka!_

Five minutes later they walked down into the arena. Zev guessed part of the reason they gave him five minutes was to build up tension and make the fight more exciting. The first move that happened during the fight was Ai creating a sandstorm to hide herself. Kuro still did his howl. The black wind blew the sandstorm away. Ai was nowhere to be seen. Zev looked to his right and to his left. Then he looked up. Ai was falling toward him. Kuro saw her too. He did another howl. It blasted her. She was stronger than Kyoto though. She managed to keep conscious. Kuro tackled her when she got on the ground. She threw him off of her and she threw several senbon into Kuro. Kuro yelped. Then she went for Zev. There was a brief exchanged of blows, then Kuro tackled her again, "You should be paralyzed!"

"Hello, I'm a demon that means I don't have organs for your poisons to work on!" He bit he shoulder, "I'm pure chakra!" She screamed and threw him off her again. She rushed Zev. She pulled out her senbon and tried to stab Zev with them. Zev used _Fuubakun no jutsu _to blow her back. Kuro tackled her and bit her again.

_What are you doing? At least try to knock her out!_

_I'm working on it! I'm sending my chakra into her keirakukei soon she won't be able to fight, _She threw him off, _I got enough in her, now it's just a matter of time, _Zev could see black marks appearing along her body. Zev guessed those were her tenketsu being sealed. She got a very lucky punch in Zev's jaw that lifted him off the ground. He fell back and then rolled over his shoulder into a low crouch. She began making hand signs. She didn't get anything. She tried again, "You can't do any more jutsus," Kuro spoke up, "when I bit you, I sent my chakra into you, your tenketsu are sealed."

She threw her hands down and charged Zev. Zev turned and sent a punch into her back that sent her flying. He didn't use _Saceno no jutsu, _but he applied extra force. She tired to get up but she couldn't, "This match is over…," Zev said turning. The examiner proclaimed Zev the winner after watching Ai struggle. Zev walked over to Ai and tried to help her up.

"I can do it myself!" she shouted at him. She tried to get up again but she fell back down. Zev noticed she was crying. He tried again to help her, "I can do it!" she screamed at him.

"Let me help you…."

"I can do it! I don't need help!" Zev sighed and picked her up anyways, she was screaming at him to put her down. When he got back to the waiting room she had finally stopped screaming.

"Why don't you want help?" he asked as he set her down in one of the chairs.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me…"

"Fine, ever since I was little my dad didn't think I could become a ninja. I wanted to get started early so I started training at five. He always put me down because I asked for help a lot. He would say, 'a true ninja never needs help' or 'a ninja can't afford help he has to be his own help' and he would ignore me. Sometimes he would beat me to get that lesson ingrained in me. When I was seven he left me and my mom. I haven't seen him since. It wasn't like he died on a mission or anything he just left. No good-bye, he just left. I never got to learn any good genjutsu or ninjutsu from him. That left me with taijutsu. I didn't want to ask for help training, so at school I tried to get fights started then I'd join in and beat them. After school I'd literally walk down the streets looking for trouble. My mother thought she raised me wrong so she'd punish me all most every day. And more then one day a week at least, I could hear her crying at night. I spent a more than a few weeks in jail after some of my fights. Eventually she handed me to the police and had me set to work. I'd still walk down the streets looking for trouble but now I'd pull gangs into jail. I eventually got a book on poisons. For a while I thought of suicide," her hair fell forward and she brushed it back, "But instead I started coating my weapons with paralyzing poisons. I guess that's my story."

"So you can't stand the thought of being weak?" she nodded, "Just because you ask for help doesn't mean you're weak. In fact, it probably means you're strong," Ai looked up, "I'd say someone who never asks a question either knows everything or nothing at all." Zev said smiling. Zev leaned back a little, "It was wrong of your father to treat you that way, and it was wrong of him to leave. But the worst thing he did was teach you that asking for help makes you weak. The best way to get strong is to ask for help."

Ai brushed back her hair again, "Thanks… I guess," she said and smiled weakly.

"You're sensei seems to have a lot of powerful ninjutsu, why don't you ask him for help next time you see him?"

"I think I will… thanks Tengin," she smiled at him.

Zev saw Leta stand up and walk over to the window. Zev stood up and stood next to her. Utsuha and Saken were in the arena. _I must of lost track of time, _he thought, _I can't believe it's been five minutes already… by the way, Kuro, you missed._

_Damare, _Kuro said telling Zev to shut up.

The examiner started the fight. Saken used_ kotsujin no jutsu. _At the same time Utsuha summoned Sharu. The skeletons popped out of the ground and Sharu scattered them with his tail. Saken performed several summoning techniques. He summoned insects, snakes, and frogs. Utsuha saw the jutsu but he couldn't copy it. Utsuha got an idea. _"Doton, Doryuudan no jutsu!" _he shouted. Sharu did the same jutsu. The dragons attacked the swarms of creatures on the ground, "_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" _he breathed out a fire ball as did Sharu which caused the earthen material to burn. The frogs hopped up on the walls, but the snakes and the insects didn't get a chance.

"_Arashi, ameryuuu no jutsu!" _he shouted. Both he and Sharu sent a dragon made out of mist along the walls to destroy the frogs. Saken summoned more skeletons, but Utsuha wasn't done. _"Katon, Karyuu Endan!" _Utsuha and Sharu breathed out the fire dragon. Saken's skeletons were blasted by Sharu's dragon. Utsuha blasted Saken with his dragon. When the fire died down Utsuha wondered, _How is he still standing? I just blasted him with that move._

Zev looked closely at Saken, it seemed his skin was black. Zev looked closer, it was indeed black. Saken opened his eyes, they were red. Saken rushed Utsuha. He slammed him into the ground. He picked him up by his shirt, and threw him into a wall. Sharu picked Utsuha up in one of his claws. He grabbed Saken with another. He dragged Saken along the wall. The wall shimmered blue as Saken was dragged along the wall. Leta jumped back when she saw a beam of black light come out of Saken.

_That wasn't black light…, _Kuro thought, _that looked more like an absence of light._

_Huh?_

_Trust me that wasn't light, _Zev looked at Sharu who was roaring in pain. He saw that his scales looked burned. They were much darker. Another blast of what Kuro said was an absence of light shot out and Sharu had to drop Saken. Utsuha jumped onto the wall. He ran along the wall as Saken shot bursts of this no-light. Sharu slammed into Saken and dragged him along the ground. Sharu flew up and did another pass on Saken. When he flew up again, Saken's skin was its normal tone. The examiner walked up to Saken, he waved over the medics after taking a look at him. Sashii jumped down. She had stayed in the main viewing area after she was beat. She ran over to Saken. Utsuha also ran over. Zev was a little surprised when the Kazekage also appeared next to Saken. Using sand to create a stretcher for Saken he ran off to the medic core with him. Utsuha talked with Sashii for a bit. Zev couldn't hear their conversation. It was interrupted when the Hokage announced that the final match between Tengin and Utsuha was to happen tomorrow.

Sashii and Zev had talked last night, the light Saken had indeed been an absence of light. It wasn't a normal jutsu. Saken had accidentally unleashed the power of the demon Anupu. It unleashed those absences of light beams. She said Utsuha was very strong. Most people can't avoid Saken's attacks when he unleashes Anupu. Zev looked at Utsuha. They were waiting for their match in the waiting room. He sighed. He just wanted this to be over so he could go back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He looked around the room. All the chairs except two had been put back. Leta wasn't with them. There was Kuro but he was asleep.

Zev was surprised to find out that the Kazekage was going to be the examiner for the last round. The Kazekage was waiting in the center of the arena. Zev felt like it was going to be an eternity before he fought.

An eternity later, or to those who where actually paying attention to time five minutes later, it finally was time to fight. Zev and Kuro walked down into arena after Utsuha. When the Kazekage began the fight, Zev drew his blades and Utsuha summoned Sharu. Kuro tackled Sharu as soon as he got a chance. Utsuha drew his own sword and attacked Zev. Zev crossed his blades and pushed out creating a whirlwind. The whirl wind picked up sand and blasted Utsuha. Utsuha was very scratched up after the wind. He jumped back and got on his knees. He shouted,_ "Arashi, ameryuuu no jutsu!" _The mist came out of his sleeves and Sharu breathed it out. Kuro jumped back and sent his howl at Sharu. His howl dispersed the mist and blasted Sharu. Zev sent another whirlwind at the mist. The whirlwind didn't just disperse the mist, but it sent it back as well. Utsuha rolled past the mist. Utsuha got up and charged Zev again. He swung Khalon's sword at Zev. Zev brought his swords up to block it. He fell back with the swing of the sword and Utsuha went over him. Zev kicked Utsuha into the air. He created another whirlwind and shouted to Kuro. Kuro turned and saw Utsuha up in the air. He howled at Utsuha. The blast threw him out of the whirlwind and into the ceiling. Sharu caught Utsuha on his back before he fell down to the ground.

Kuro howled at Sharu and Utsuha. Sharu barely avoided getting blasted into the wall. Zev sent a whirlwind at Sharu. Sharu roared as the sand got into his eyes. He had to land and shake off the sand. Zev took that moment to knock off Utsuha. Koru tackled Sharu. He bit his neck and the dragon roared. Utsuha and Zev got into a rapid sword fight. Zev had the advantage. The size of Utsuha's sword made it difficult to swing. Not only that, but he could only swing in two directions. If he had trained more and grown stronger he might have had enough strength to manage the sword better but it was still new in his hands. Zev pummeled Utsuha. Utsuha wouldn't give up so easily. Zev decided to unleash a _fuubakun no jutsu. _He prepped it. Utsuha took a step back. Kuro saw a chance and he took it. He ran underneath Utsuha's legs. He tripped Utsuha. Zev jumped over the wolf and blasted Utsuha with the jutsu. When the sand settled, Utsuhawas unconscious. Zev sat back and began to lie down out of exhaustion. Zev felt the wolf sit behind him. Sharu roared. Zev flinched as the creature stood up. He didn't have enough strength to fight him. The dragon roared again and disappeared in a burst of flame. Zev sighed. Soon he'd be back in the Village Hidden in the Leaves as a chuunin. Assuming he got awarded the rank of chuunin.

He didn't doubt he would. He looked at Utsuha. He guessed he would as well. _"Look," _he heard the wolf say in his mind. Zev looked up Leta was up in the back row next to her father. Sashii, Saken, Keishin, Ai, and Emiko were in the front row. Everyone was on their feet cheering. Zev looked around the arena. It was an impressive match. He would have done much better if he wasn't so restricted, but that wasn't going through his mind. He just wanted to be home.

_Home, _Zev thought, _I haven't wanted to be there in so long…_

Zev was lined up the next day in the middle of the arena. Utsuha was on his right. Ai was on his left. Ai was staring at her feet. Next to Utsuha was Sashii, and next to her Emiko. Next to Ai was Saken and next to Saken was Keishin. The other ninjas were behind them. The Kazekage stood up. We have chosen three ninja to become chuunin, Tengin please step forward." Zev took two steps forward, "Utsuha step forward," Utsuha stepped forward and stood next to Zev, "And Ai," Ai's head jerked up, "Please step forward" Unlike Utsuha and Zev she jumped forward and was about a step in front of Zev, "You three are awarded the rank of Chuunin!" the examiners from all the stages of the exam came forward and handed them chuunin vests. These were tan vests. Zev liked his real vest better. Ai threw on her vest right away. Utsuha put his over the jacket he wore. Zev took off his cloak and put on the vest. He put the cloak back on over it. He straightened and listened to the speech given by the Kazekage. It was a long speech, and Zev was dying to get back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. When the speech finally ended he started walking out of the arena.

Keishin fell into step with him, "I'm still waiting for Khalon's forehead protector." She said and she walked off. Leta met Zev first.

"Con… congratulations, Zev." She said.

"Tell them I'll meet them in a half hour outside the village," Leta nodded and walked off.


	24. Chapter 24 Good to be Home

Author's notes: Yes, I had to bring Lee in. Despite me hating him, (Actually I don't, now that I think about it, I hate Neji) I wanted to put him in here. Mostly becuase I wanted him to achieve his dream of being a splended ninja, (Out of curiostiy, I wonder how many pople noticed the way Sakura wears her forehead protector.)

Disclaimer: look at any chapter, probaby one if you didn't catch the bit about Sakura.

Chapter 24 Good to be Home

Zev was waiting outside the village, he wore his regular vest. He didn't like the chuunin vest. Leta was the first to meet him again. She ran up to him when he waved. Kuro was behind him. He noticed she was carrying something. She held it out to him, "Here, its…it's a vest like yours… I… um… made it during our time here…." Zev took it and looked at it. It had the pockets for scrolls on the front but it was like his normal vest color. He noticed that the pockets on the inside were just like his normal vest. He looked at the back. It had a wolf howling silhouetted by lightning. Zev took of his vest and put on hers, "I… uh… made the design on the back myself…."

"Thanks, I love it," Zev said smiling. Leta blushed. Zev looked past her and saw the others coming. He noticed Ai was with them and so was Emiko.

"Hello, Ai!"

"Do I know you?"

"Not like this but how about," he did a _Henge no jutsu_ into Tengin, "this?" he finished.

"Tengin?" she asked as he transformed back.

"Zev, actually, I had to assume the guise of Tengin to avoid being noticed by anyone who might be loyal to Lobo." Emiko shifted a little at that, "What brings you out here?"

"Well I wanted to say thanks before you left. Sashii said you had to go. So, thanks, when I'm around you I feel like a weight is off of my shoulders."

Emiko smiled, "I know what you're talking about," she looked at Zev, "I have to go I came by to see you off, but if I take too long my squad mates might get suspicious." She turned and walked off.

"I should go too, good-bye, Zev. I really hope we get to see each other again soon," she walked up to Zev and hugged him, which brought a reaction out of Leta. Ai turned and ran off.

Sashii laughed he leaned up close to Zev, "I'll go check to make sure that she knows you and Leta are a couple."

"Wait… who said-?"

She cut him off, "No one needed to say anything I can see it." She ran off.

Saken turned and waved, "I don't need to say good-bye, because I know we'll see each other soon. After all, I still have to pick up Sahlhi."

Keishin smiled and bounced on her toes, "We're going to see each other soon, you still have yet to get Khalon's forehead protector to us," then she ran off as well.

Jada was the only one left to say good-bye, "Well, I guess this is good-bye, but I don't think this is the last we'll see each other."

"Count on that." Zev said and he extended his hand. Jada grabbed his hand, "See Ya."

"Yeah," then Jada left.

Osona spoke up, "Well then should we get going?"

They all said yes at once.

As they were walking Osona brought something up that she had been meaning to ask since they ate together after the second part of the exam, "Zev, You're about sixteen right?" he nodded, "And Lobo is your twin correct?" he nodded again, "then how come he's married?"

"In our clan we tend to die young, our average life span is much shorter. Not because of any defects in our bodies or anything. It's because we're assigned the most dangerous missions. Sometimes we're specifically asked for in "A" ranked missions. So because of that we marry early. That wouldn't be a problem in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Zev shifted his pack, "Most of the time the marriages are arranged by the parents. Sometimes it can be broken, like with me and Semiko."

"Just curious, but were you upset when Semiko said she didn't want to marry you?" Utsuha asked.

"No, to be honest, she's a whiny, loud, bitch," he looked back at Leta, "I think this all turned out for the better."

Utsuha didn't catch Leta blushing but Osona did. She couldn't help but smile, _this is almost like out of one of my books, _Osona laughed, _Maybe I should write a book out of this. It would probably be a best seller. _She suddenly noticed Zev's mood seem to sink.

_Even though I've been away for so long I still feel like I'm in there, _Zev thought referring to his home town, _I feel like I'm stuck there. _

_Daijouka? _Kuro asked Zev.

_Yea, I'll be alright, _Zev said in response to the wolf's question, _reading my mind again?_

_I don't have to, to see that something's wrong. Actually Zev has cut me off from reading your thoughts for now. _

_Thanks, _Zevsaid to the other wolf that he could speak to.

"_Will you let me work on the curse mark?" _

_No._

"_Then I'm going to let him back into your thoughts." _Zev thought about letting the wolf have his way, for a half second, and then decided not to.

Zev felt more and more tired as they traveled. He felt very relieved when he got back. He went to his apartment. He noticed that it was cleaned. He shook his head, _Leta must have cleaned it, _he thought.

"So, this your place?" Kuro asked walking in, "It's kind of small don't you think?"

"Well one, yes it is, and two it's meant for one person not a person and his giant oversized dog slash wolf demon. Can't you just disappear like Sharu?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to," he hopped up on the bed, "nice bed, nothing like those beds back at the Village Hidden in the Sand."

"Hey off my bed!"

"_Baka_! Then where do I sleep?"

"How about on the floor? And stop calling me _baka_!"

"No way!"

"Fine why don't we go in the morning and find you a mattress for you."

"Okay, but I get the bed tonight."

"Excuse me, but who's paying for your bed?" the wolf got off, "much better," Zev said as he lay down on the bed. He discharged some energy. Then he went to sleep.

He woke up with a weight on his chest. He looked and saw Kuro on his chest, "Kuro!" Zev growled his name.

"Sorry but the floor is hard."

"You know for a demon you're pretty whiny." Zev said getting up. He rubbed his chest. It hurt from having Kuro's weight on him all night, "Let's go get you that mattress."

Zev went out with Kuro. Kuro walked a little behind Zev, every once in a while he would run ahead and stop. He'd wait until Zev was in front of him again and would start walking again. Zev found a mattress that wasn't too expensive. He made the wolf drag it. The wolf didn't complain about it, which surprised Zev. When they finally got it back, Zev put the mattress in a spot in a corner of the room in between a wall and the foot of Zev's bed. The wolf laid down on his new bed, "Much better, He stated, "Any chance I can get a pillow?"

Zev grabbed one of his two pillows and chucked it at the wolf. The wolf, after making a remark about getting a pillow chucked at his face, moved the pillow so that it was on his paws and he rested his head on it. "You know, this would be a whole lot easier if you would just disappear," Zev said.

"I don't feel like it," Kuro said closing his eyes. He opened one, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll give you a hint, it involves a certain Hyuga," Zev ran out the door, _You could have closed the door! _the wolf shouted at Zev in his mind. He got a thought back about not caring, only an idiot would walk in a room with a demon wolf in it. He chuckled, "He's right," he spoke to himself as he swished one of his tails and a wind shut the door.

Zev ran out the door. He got a thought from the wolf complaining about him not shutting the door, _Like it matters, only an idiot would go walk in on giant demon wolf, _he thought back. He felt the wolf chuckle at that. Zev turned down one of the streets. He turned down another street. He had almost forgotten that he was going to meet Leta, Utsuha and Osona at a ramen shop today. He turned down another street. He stopped, _Dang it! I got lost!_ he ran up the side of the building. He saw Osona standing outside a ramen shop. _There! _he thought, ashe ran across the roof tops. He shouted to Osona. She looked around. He shouted again as he bounded across another rooftop. He sighed Osona either couldn't hear him, or she wasn't really paying attention. He stepped onto the bar that held the ramen shop's sign. He fell forward keeping himself stuck to the bar with chakra control, "Hey!" he shouted right in front of Osona. Osona jumped back, "I've been shouting trying to get your attention."

"I'd greatly appreciate it you didn't do that again," Osona said, trying to regain her composure, "Where've you been?"

"I had to get Kuro a mattress. For a demon he's really whiny." Zev said as he dropped down.

"Leta's been waiting. And Utsuha, well, you know how he is," She said jabbing a thumb over her shoulder.

"Yea I know." Utsuha was polishing off another bowl. Zev guessed about his sixth or seventh, looking at the stack next to him. And it would probably be another five more before he hit full. Zev sat next to Leta. Leta was fiddling with her chopsticks. She looked up when he sat down. Zev smiled. She blushed and turned away and looked at her ramen. Zev could see it was no longer steaming. _She didn't even touch her food till I got here,_ Zev thought. Zev order a bowl of ramen as Leta started eating. Zev could still feel some heat emanating from the bowl, "You know you didn't have to wait for me…," he told her.

"It's… okay… the… um… bowl was a little hot anyways."

Utsuha had to stop eating for a second as Khalon's sword began to fall. He grabbed it with one hand, nearly falling off the chair. He sighed a sigh of relief and proceeded to lose his balance. Leta giggled watching him. Zev shook his head, and sighed. He was slightly taken aback as he realized how he felt about being here, in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He realized he wanted to be there, in the place he now called home. His thoughts brought him back to the Village Hidden in the Rain. His mood grew much more somber. Leta looked at Zev,_ He looks just like when I saw him that night…, _she thought. "Ah… Zev… wha-… what's…."

She was cut off during one of her pauses, "Zev! Utsuha! Congratulations on becoming chuunin!"

Zev turned as did everyone else. They all looked at the Hokage, "Thank you sir!" Utsuha said.

"Mind if I join you for ramen?" he asked sitting down.

_Do we have a choice? _Zev couldn't help but laugh, "No sir."

Naruto smiled at Utsuha then he looked at Zev, "Zev, if you want you can become a joinin right now."

"Sir, do I have a choice?" Zev asked him looking at his daughter.

"Yes, of course."

"Then I'd like to remain a chuunin for now. I think I still want to spend some time with my teammates."

"Understandable," Naruto admitted as he got his ramen, "Let's eat!" Zev realized that it his bowl that the Hokage was about to dig into.

"Father… that's… um…."

"What Leta?" he asked her setting his chopsticks down.

"That's Zev's…."

He looked at Zev than at the bowl, "Oh, right."

Osona had training as regular the next day. She said that she was going to have someone special train them. Zev recognized their new trainer for the day from his bingo book. It was a very famous taijutsu genius. The man had asked them if they knew who he was.

"Rock Lee, no genjutsu or ninjutsu skills but a master at taijutsu. In your first chuunin exam you fought against Garra or more formerly know as the Kazekage. Your left arm and leg were so badly damaged that you would never be able to fight again. You proved them wrong and came back stronger than ever. You chased after Sakura when you were younger but were shot down every time."

"That was more information than I wanted," he said head hanging. He had big bushy eyebrows, and his hair was a bowl cut.

"Sorry," Zev said shrugging, "you asked."

"I should have you know. Osona will not be your sensei for the next month."

"What?" Utsuha shouted. He already was missing the award of a meal afterwards.

"She's on a mission that requires her specifically. Now let's get started!" he pointed off in the distance, "ten laps!"

"Laps?" Leta repeated confused.

"Around the village. Let's go!" He started running.

Zev sighed, "Let's go…," Zev was surprised at the pace Lee set. But he managed to keep pace. Zev managed to keep pace till the sixth lap. Utsuha had fallen back at the third lap. Leta never managed to keep at Lee's pace. Zev stopped and let Utsuha pass him. He waited for Leta, when she caught up to him, and Lee lapped Zev, Zev fell into a pace a little fast than her pace, "Come on, you can do it." Leta stepped up her pace to match Zev's. When Zev saw Utsuha coming up on them he said, "Let's go a little faster," stepping up his pace again. Leta matched pace.

Utsuha passed them eventually, "Come on Zev, you don't want me to lap you do you?"

"I think we can go a little faster." Zev said to Leta stepping up his pace a little more. Leta pushed herself a little to keep at his pace. Utsuha had to stop, he had pushed himself to long and got tried, "Come on Utsuha!" Zev shouted to him as they passed, "Let's go a little faster," he said to Leta stepping up the pace again. Leta really had to push her self to keep at his pace.

At the end of the lap Leta sides were hurting. She had never ran this long or this hard before. She was able to push some of the pain from her mind by focusing on Zev. Although Zev was two laps ahead of Leta, Lee let them both stop when Zev finished his tenth lap. Let fell on the ground breathing hard. Zev put his hands behind his head, "Leta, hold you arms up like this standing, it's not good to lie down like that right away," he was tired too. Although Leta didn't notice, Zev had stepped up the pace several more times not telling her.

"R-right…," Leta said standing up mimicking Zev. She knew that, but she wanted to lie down so badly she forgot. Once Leta was breathing normal again, Lee let them get a drink. Utsuha began to guzzle down his water, "Um… Utsuha, You… you shouldn't… um…."

"Slow down!" Zev shouted at Utsuha. Utsuha jerked up when Zev started shouting at him.

"What?"

"You'll make your self sick," Leta told him concerned.

"Time's up!" Lee shouted, "Bring it in!" Everyone came running back, "a thousand push ups, go!" Utsuha dropped to the ground immediately. Zev shrugged and got down. Leta started doing push ups with her knees on the ground, "No, don't do those," Lee started, "do them like everyone else."

Leta started doing them normal but she had a lot of difficulty. Leta fell down, "That's enough for you, now do twelve hundred skips with the jump rope," Lee ordered tossing her a jump rope. Leta had some difficulty getting up. After a time Utsuha fell over as well, "Now you too," Lee tossed him a jump rope, "twelve hundred skips, go!" Utsuha got up, "By the way, have you heard?"

Zev said as he did another push up, "Heard what?"

"There's going to be a small tournament, to see how the chuunin of this year's exams compare to last years. So that's your chance to prove to everyone you're truly worthy of the rank of chuunin," he made some pose as he said this.

"No sweat. This will be simple," Utsuha said as reached nine hundred skips.

"How's it done, one verses one? Two verses Two?" Zev asked as he finished his push ups.

"It will be three verses three. Even Leta is going to participate," Lee told them all as he tossed Zev a jump rope.

Zev stood up, and he decided to cheat a little. He used _Relatzer no Jutsu_ to finish the skips. When the jutsu finished, he was facedown on the ground, "Okay, I can't get to twelve hundred skips but I can get pretty close," he said as he rolled over.

"I would have twelve hundred but you scared me!" Utsuha shouted from a tree. Leta giggled.

_Ah… the power of youth, eh? Gai-sensei? _Lee thought.


	25. Chapter 25 The Chuunin test

Author's Note: Yea! I finally got Sahlhi to fight! This is actually a chapter I had to change a lot after I had written it. I had told a friend I killed off Kakashi and he blew up on me. So I promised him I'd change it and I'm a man of my word, still, I letting him sit in his grave a bit longer.

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter, except for 21 and up.

Chapter 25 The Chuunin Test 

A week later, Zev, Utsuha, and Leta were all sore and tired. Kuro went with them to the training grounds where the tournament was going to be held. _Why is this called a tournament? We're the only team to pass the exam, _Kuro thought.

_Why ask me? I have no idea? _Zev thought back.

The wolf gave what Zev thought was a shrug, _I guess because there are two exams each year._

Only a few people were there when they arrived, among them was the Hokage and his wife. Zev looked around. There was a black monument. Zev walked over and looked at it. It had a long list of names. A few that stuck out to Zev were Hatake Kakashi, and Maito Gai. He heard someone walking up behind him. He turned around and saw it was Sakura, she was holding hands with Saskue, "That monument… is for those who died. Our sensei is on there."

"May I ask how he died?"

"He… he and Gai, went after a few ninja who had attempted an assassination. They told us to wait," she stopped as she started crying, "They should have take us with them, they wouldn't have died then," her tears started flowing freely.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," Zev looked at the speaker, then he looked back at the monument, "It happened five years ago," Saskue continued telling Zev, "I wasn't there. The Hokage at that time had sent me on a mission."

"_You know five years is long enough for **that** to work." _The wolf inside of Zev told him.

_I can't use that technique, my limit is too low. Besides it's forbidden._

"_I was just telling you, and with Saken you might be able to skip the consequences of the technique." _

"Saken?" Zev said aloud.

"There is no possible way you could know I was here!" he heard him say.

Zev turned around, Saken was there behind him, as was Sashii, "What are you guys doing here?" he asked them.

"We came to pick up Sahlhi." Sashii said. She looked at Sakura who was still crying about her mentor's death, "what's wrong with her?" she asked Zev making sure Sakura couldn't hear her.

"She's mourning her sensei's death. It happened five years ago but time can't truly heal all wounds…."

"Perhaps we should leave them for now?" Saken purposed.

Zev nodded and led them over to where a small crowd was forming. Utsuha was standing in between three ninja. Two of them were Hyugas. One wore all white, "Kashiko leave her alone! She's more than capable in a fight!" Utsuha shouted at the one in white.

"She still shouldn't be in this, she won't last," the other one said.

"Kashiko… Riyoku…," Leta mumbled.

"Besides, there's no way you can win," the third said, "please, we're just making it easier on all three of you."

Zev saw a chance to step in, "So you're planning on withdrawing? That will save quite a bit of time so we don't have to beat your sorry ass."

"What was that?" the one Zev guessed was Riyoku said, "I think someone is trying to pick a fight."

"You started it!" Utsuha shouted at him, "You were picking on Leta!"

"She isn't qualified," he said monotonously.

"You pick a fight with her, and you're picking a fight with me," Zev said stepping in front of Leta.

Kashiko stepped up to Zev, "Do you think you can beat us? We're your seniors."

Zev felt a strong impulse to see how well she could fly, "Hold on!" he heard Lee shout, "The fighting is about to begin. We want all the fighting to be done in a match. So please, control your selves!" he pointed over to a joinin who had a bag in his hands, "Riyoku pick your first opponent."

He smiled and walked over. He drew a name. Zev noticed the veins popping out of the side of his head, "Our opponents are Zev Alcido, Leta Uzumaki,"

_Leta Uzumaki? I thought she was considered a Hyuga because of her kekkei genkai, _Zev thought. He noticed Leta turn away when her name was called.

"And Utsuha Uchiha." Riyoku finished. Everyone felt sorry for the combatants, some for Riyoku's team, some for Zev's, but all felt sorry for some one who ever was going to lose, badly.

"Kuro, stay out of this fight. I want to beat them on my own," Zev told the wolf. Kuro thought along the same lines of Zev and didn't argue. He wanted to see Riyoku's face when he lost.

"I think I'll keep Sharu out as well." Utsuha stated. Leta fidgeted a little, she was afraid.

When the match was started, Zev took Riyoku. He caught him off guard with his speed. Utsuha took the third ninja. Leta didn't take Kashiko, rather, Kashiko took Leta. Riyoku activated his byakugan and tried to fight Zev. Zev was much faster than Riyoku. Riyoku was not doing well. He wasn't getting beaten too badly because he could see Zev coming but he didn't have enough time to counter-react, _Damn he's fast… I need to level the playing field…I know!_ He created a three Shadow Clones.

"Only three? I can top that!" Zev began making the hand signs for the jutsu. He found out it was much harder to do when trying to block attacks from four different people at once.

Utsuha was able to match speed with the third man, "You're pretty good," he told him.

"Thanks, you too but you haven't seen anything yet," he threw a punch at Utsuha. Utsuha caught his punch. He laughed, and made hand signs with his one free hand. Utsuha felt the air chill around him. He jumped out of instinct, which saved him a world of hurt. His mouth dropped open in shock as he saw hundreds of needles of ice hit where he just was, "My name is Haku, I was named after the ninja who the Hokage faced as a young man, and I learned a kekkei genkai."

"That's impossible."

"I thought it was too but as you can see," He made more hand signs more needles shot out, "I did."

Zev looked over at Utsuha. He saw Utsuha jump for no apparent reason. Then he ducked and began ducking imaginary missiles. _What is he doing? _Zev wondered.

"He's trapped in a genjutsu." Riyoku said, "But you should pay more attention," Zev ducked a kick.

"Maybe," Zev admitted.

Riyoku tried to kick him again, "Quit moving!" he shouted at him as Zev simply stepped.

"So you can hit me? I don't think so."

Leta involuntarily stepped back as Kashiko went to her, "Give up," she ordered as Leta stepped back, "You can't win. You're weak. More suited to follow than to lead. You need someone to protect you. You're not even strong enough to call yourself a Hyuga. Your father tried to keep you in the clan, but we no longer want you."

Leta stepped back again, "No, y-you're wrong! I- I- I can-"

"No you can't, Leta. Just make it easier on your self."

"_Leta, you can do it!" _A voice told her. It reminded her of Zev's it was calming and quiet, but Leta was too scared to hear it.

"I- I- I-"

Zev ducked another kick from Riyoku, "Leta really likes you, I wonder what happens if we put you two together."

Zev suddenly realized there was only two of Riyoku. He felt one of them grab him from behind. He saw another grab Leta. Riyoku pushed the two of them together and their lips met. Riyoku lost control of the jutsu because he was laughing so hard. Leta's eyes rolled back into her head and she fell over. She was still beat red on the ground. Zev turned to look at Riyoku, who was still rolling on the ground. He wasn't shaken up at all.

_He just kissed me!_ Leta thought. She pretended to faint because she was so embarrassed. She could still feel her face blushing a deep red, _I can't believe he just kissed me!_

The Hokage leaned over to his wife, "She's just like you, Hinata," Hinata blushed a little and giggled.

Kashiko kicked Riyoku not taking her eyes off the undaunted Zev, "What? Oh…" he said as he stood up.

Zev was slightly surprised at how calm he was despite what happened. Zev figured he should hurry this up and wake up Leta. He used a _Relatzer no jutsu _to kick Riyoku, who went flying across the field. He turned and kicked Kashiko who went flying into the third man. Utsuha stood up as the genjutsu was suddenly broken by a flying Kashiko. When the two of them landed the third was on top of Kashiko with their lips touching. Zev got a slight victory as he watched the Kashiko faint. The third stood up his face beet red. He turned and saw Utsuha marching towards him, cracking his knuckles. He looked at Zev who was checking Riyoku. He was unconscious. He made a wise decision and decided to forfeit.

Utsuha was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to knock him out. He walked up and asked, "Is Haku really your name?"

He shook his head, "No, actually it's Kisho. I told you it was Haku to add to the illusion."

"I should have used Sharingan… then I would have been able to see through it," Utsuha said as he smacked himself in the head for forgetting.

"Actually that was part of the illusion. I was using the illusion to block your thoughts of using sharingan."

"I have to admit that was pretty good."

"Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself. It was difficult to stop you from using the sharingan."

"It looks like this whole tournament is working out well," the Hokage said to his wife, "It looks like everyone's gaining a new respect for each other."

"I'm more interested in Leta," Hinata said, putting her hand into his, "that's a little more interesting don't you think?"

Zev walked over to Leta. She was still red, "Leta?" she moved a little but didn't get up, "Leta the match is over."

Leta sat up slowly. She still was red, "Did… did we win?" she knew the answer but she was hoping it would make it look like she really was unconscious.

"Yeah, we did," Zev told her.

She stood up. Her face still hadn't stopped blushing, "Uh… um… well…um…."

Zev put a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you go sit with your mother? She's right over there," Zev told her pointing at Hinata.

"Uh…o-okay…."

Zev walked over to Saken, "Should we go see Sahlhi?" the shinobi nodded and took off. Zev was close behind. Zev was vaguely aware of Sashii behind him, _So Saken might be a key to performing the jutsu without sacrifice? How would that work?_ Zev thought. "Saken, that _kotsujin no jutsu _is a forbidden jutsu, correct? How do you get past the cost for it?"

Saken turned and looked behind him, "Yeah, it is. I'm not exactly sure how, it just happens. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing in particular, it's just that there is a jutsu in my clan which is forbidden. The user has to sacrifice a life to perform it. So it's never been used but everyone knows it."

"You're not talking about _Kyuchiyose Edo Tensei _are you?" Saken asked shocked.

"No," Zev said shaking his head emphatically, "It's called _Junsui ten Tensei, _and unlike _Kyuchiyose Edo Tensei _the summoned people are themselves. They aren't controlled by the user."

"What made you think of that?" Sashii asked from behind.

"It kind of popped into my head when I was looking at the monument."

Everyone was quiet as they ran the rest of the way. When they got to the hospital they found Sahlhi outside waiting. Sand was swirling around him on the ground. He wore a jacket with the kanji for wind on it. His shirt underneath his jacket also had the same Kanji on it. He also had a black bandana around his neck. He waved to Saken, "It's about time you showed up! I was getting bored."

"Sorry I got caught up in the chuunin testing they're doing right now."

"It's all good." Sahlhi said shrugging, "Actually I'd like to see how it's going myself."

"I'll show you to the place then," Zev said turning.

"Wait, Zev," Saken said pointing to Sahlhi. Zev turned and saw Sahlhi make a floating board of sand. He stepped onto it and sand went over his feet connecting him to the board. He made two others for Saken and Zev. Saken stepped on the board He motioned to Zev to get on, "Trust me your going to like this," he said.

Zev shrugged and got on. When the sand covered his feet, Sahlhi took the lead. The boards went much faster than they would have went running. _Saken was right, this is cool! _Zev thought as they were passing the half way point to the field. Zev could hear another fight finishing as they neared. When they got to the field, the sand boards disappeared.

Utsuha was waiting for them as was Leta, Leta wasn't blushing a deep red anymore but she seemed to go a shade darker as Zev neared. Utsuha ran up to Sashii, "Hey, how's it been?" he asked her.

"Good," she said brushing back her hair, "how about you?"

"I'm a bit better now," Utsuha said smiling. Sahlhi looked at Sashii, who was smiling back.

He raised an eyebrow and Sashii looked at him, "What?" she asked.

He shook his head and smiled, "nothing…," a wall of sand shot up in front of him to block a ninja who was competing in the tournament. Sahlhi blinked, Zev wasn't sure if that was a flinch. The sand fell down and the now unconscious shinobi fell with it.

Leta walked up behind Zev, "Zev, um… could we…uh… talk?" Zev followed her to a spot away from the fighting and everyone else, "Um… about that kiss…," she started.

"It's okay," he put a hand on her shoulder, "you don't have to worry about it."

"It's not that," she said as she took his hand and held it, "I was… just… wondering if-"

Zev kissed her, Leta felt her lips tingling as Zev broke off from the kiss, "Does that answer your question?" Leta could not have been a darker shade of red.

Sahlhi was trying not to laugh watching Sashii and Utsuha, _they make a cute couple, _he thought, _I guess a lot has changed since I've been in my hometown, _he looked back at the match, _after this one Zev's squad will be up_, he shrugged as Zev and Leta came back. He noticed they were holding hands, and Leta was a little red. He watched as another shinobi went flying from a punch to the midsection, "That wraps that up," he said aloud. He walked over to the Hokage, "Honorable Hokage, I ask that you let me, my brother, and Sashii participate."

_He's Garra's son_ _right? This might turn out ugly but he doesn't seem like Garra when he was that age… _he allowed them to fight the victors of the last match. Saken ran over to the center of the field. Sashii got up slowly from where she was sitting next to Utsuha.

When they all got to the center of the field Sahlhi said, "Eye of the gods."

When the match began Sashii took flight. Saken performed the summoning jutsus for snakes and insects. Sahlhi cupped his hands and Sand surrounded him and Saken. From inside the sphere, Saken performed _Kotsujin no jutsu._ Using all three ocular jutsus that the trio could perform, they fought with out being able to be touched.

The Hokage blinked and missed a good portion of the fight. Zev, Leta, and Utsuha were up to fight the Sand ninja. Kuro wanted to join in on this fight so he went with them. Sahlhi smiled as the sand sphere around him dissipated. He laughed as he saw Zev smiling, "Eye of the gods again."

When the match started up, Saken summoned his creatures and hid with Sahlhi in the shell of sand. Kuro howled at the shell. The black wind blasted away part of the shell but new sand came up from the ground and repaired it, _You're up Zev, _the wolf told him.

Zev smiled again. Sashii was blinded by the flash of light. She felt like someone threw something at her. As thunder boomed there was another flash of light. Sashii lost control and crashed into the ground. Saken and Sahlhi both looked in between them and saw Zev standing there, "Hi guys," he said as lightning jumped out of the ground near him and Sahlhi and Saken were paralyzed.

When Sashii looked up as another clap of thunder rolled she saw the sand shell around Sahlhi and Sashii blast into dust. Lightning was jumping in between Saken and Sahlhi. She stood up to take to the sky again when she was pushed back down by a giant claw. She looked up and saw Sharu pinning her down.

She sighed as she realized she and her team were beat. The lightning stopped and Sharu took his claw off of Sashii. He put his head down and lifted her up. Sashii smiled weakly at the giant creature. She looked at Leta, Leta hadn't moved from the start of the match. She was open mouthed. Sashii thought about how long the match was, _That couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, _she mentally did a double-take, _we got beat in that short of time? _

The Hokage started clapping. He was surprised at how quickly that happened. He would have bet on the sand team after watching them in the first match. He started an applause from everyone else watching the fight. Sashii went over and helped up Sahlhi and Saken. They had some difficulty standing after the lightning had coursed through them. Sahlhi used his sand to make himself a pair of crutches. Saken used _Kotsujin no jutsu _to create two skeletons, which helped him off.

The Hokage walked up to Zev, "are you sure you don't want to become a joinin now?"

Leta walked up next to Zev and put her hand in his, "I'm sure. I want to spend some more time with a certain Uzumaki," Leta blushed.

"Sure where does that leave me," Utsuha muttered a little louder than he wanted. He realized that as the trio looked at him, "what?" he said holding up his hands defensively.


	26. Chapter 26 Shadow

Author's notes: Nothing really.

Discailmer: Look at any other chapter below 21

Chapter 26 Shadow

Zev was on time for training. He felt sore, but he felt worse before and pushed his discomfort from his mind. He was actually glad to have these long training periods with Lee, as Kuro would never shut up about the state of Zev's apartment. Zev looked around, Leta was sitting down rubbing her shoulder, and Utsuha was doing some warm ups. Zev suddenly realized how cold it was as a gust of wind sent cold air into his face.

Zev sat next to Leta. He rubbed her shoulder sending his chakra into her which relaxed her sore muscles. She turned and smiled at Zev, "Thanks," she said.

Zev smiled and held her hand, "Don't mention it," Leta blushed again.

Lee showed up not much later, "There will be no training today."

Utsuha jerked up, "What!" he shouted, "I was actually looking forward to training!"

"I'm glad to hear that!" Lee said striking a pose that Zev knew Lee called his nice guy pose, "But a good shinobi needs to know when to rest as well."

"I see, sir!" Utsuha shouted mimicking Lee's pose.

"I think Lee is beginning to rub off on Utsuha," Zev whispered to Leta who giggled at the thought.

Utsuha looked at Leta. Lee started talking again and Utsuha snapped to attention, "So, take the day off. Which reminds me, Utsuha, Sashii is still in town," there was a gust of wind and Utsuha beat it back to the heart of the village.

"Ah… the power of youth…," Lee said as he looked back at the center of the village. He finished quietly but Zev still heard him, "I wish you could see this sensei," he said as he ran off on his own.

Zev shifted slightly. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was split in two, he wanted to resurrect Kakashi and Gai, but he knew he couldn't his limitations prevented him. He was distracted from his thoughts when Leta stood up, "Maybe we should… uh… go too?"

Zev nodded and stood up, "Yea, let's go," Zev walked with her to her father's house. She stayed very close to Zev leaning into him. When they arrived at Leta's home, Zev stopped, "Leta, you should go the rest of the way. Your father seems to be a little uneasy about me still."

Leta nodded and slowly walked away. He was right; every time she came home her father bombarded her with constant questions about where she went and with who since the day of the testing for the new chuunin. Zev turned and began to run back when Leta went into her house. Zev didn't get lost anymore while running though the village, and it didn't take him long to get back to his apartment. The place was a mess as usual. Scrolls were scattered on the floor, various weapons were on the ground too, and a few stray shirts were on the ground as well. The only spot that it was possible to see under the mess was where Kuro's bed was. Kuro was asleep but when Zev entered he opened an eye, "I thought you wouldn't be back till much later."

"There's no training today, today we're just resting."

"Good maybe you can clean this place up a little."

Zev sighed, he didn't want to but he'd never get the wolf to leave him alone about it, "Okay, okay, I'll do it," Zev gave in. He started picking the room up.

When you could see the floor Kuro said, "Hey you have wood floors!"

It took a lot of effort to not smack the giant creature on Zev's part.

Kuro sighed, "It's…better…," the wolf admitted. The room was clean by Zev's standards. More than half the floor was visible. All the weapons had been thrown in a corner, the scrolls were in another corner and the few shirts thrown about had been put away. There was an occasional senbon on the ground, as well as some pieces of trash, "But not that much…," the wolf finished as a scroll rolled out into the middle of the floor.

There was a knock at the door and Zev jumped over the wolf to get it. He opened the door and found Leta carrying three boxes, "I… made you… and Kuro lunch…." Zev grabbed two of the top boxes and let her in. Leta put her box on the table and Zev placed the other two next to it. She opened one box and gave it to Kuro. He started eating immediately. She looked at Zev, "uh… do you… want…," she started tapping her index fingers together, "eat out in the park with me?"

Zev nodded and picked up her box and his. She went out the door first and led to Zev to a nearby park. It was called Shinmu Park. Zev had read about the park but he never visited it. He remembered bits and pieces of what he had read, but he didn't find it that interesting. He remembered that there were several signs hanging from the trees each with a different emotion hanging on it. There was a fountain in the center but Zev couldn't remember what it looked like. He remembered it was suggested to the Hokage to make it by Sakura several years after Saskue's return.

Leta found a shady place near a tree and they sat down. Zev watched some students from the Ninja academy running around playing a game as he ate. Leta sighed as she watched the students, "Something wrong?" Zev asked.

"No," Leta said shaking her head, "It's just that… you see that girl in the corner?" it took Zev a long time to find the girl. She was standing behind a tree. Zev, after he found her, noticed that she was keeping her eye on a particular boy who was leading his team to victory. She smiled as he scored another goal. The kid was knocked over and she stepped out behind the tree a little, when another girl ran up and picked him up, she got a sad look on her face and stepped behind the tree, "That was me not to long ago," Leta finished. Zev couldn't help but notice the sad tone she took when she finished.

Zev stood up, "I'll be right back," he said and he ran over behind the girl, "Hey," he said and she jumped, "What's up? Why don't you join in that game?"

"Well… I… uh… well… I'm not that good but I like watching," she gasped as she saw the boy she was watching get kicked from behind and got his leg hurt badly.

"What are you training to be, a medical ninja?" the girl nodded, "Why don't you go and help him?"

She looked back at Zev then to the boy who was holding his leg screaming, she put her finger to her lip scared. She brought her hand down and clenched her fist, "Okay," She ran out and started helping the boy.

Zev began walking back to Leta. The other girl who had picked the boy before yelled at the shy girl when she neared. She ignored the other girl and began to help him with a medical jutsu. The boy stopped screaming and leaned back as the girl helped him. When she was done the boy sat up and smiled at her. He said something that Zev couldn't pick up but he could tell it meant a lot to her from the way she blushed.

Zev sat down next to Leta again, "She really is a lot like you," he said to her as he watched the boy stand up and say something again, which made the girl blush even more.

"Is that a good thing?" she asked him.

"Well," Zev said as he watched the girl, "I think so…" Leta was blushing as well now.

They were quiet as they ate for a while, when Zev finished, much before Leta, he said, "You're a really good cook Leta."

"Well actually… my mother cooked it… I helped a little but she did most of it."

"Well… did you cook that meal you made me, Yukio, and Emiko?" she nodded, "Well you're still a good cook!"

"Thanks," she said brushing back a strand of hair, blushing a deep red.

Zev waited for Leta to finish. When she did he stood up and helped her up. He smiled and held her hand a bit longer. Leta began to blush. There was a flash of light. Zev blinked as he was momentary blinded by it. He looked over in the direction where it came from. Osona was standing there holding a camera, "I can't wait for that to develop!" she said smiling, "That was just too perfect."

Zev was slightly irked about them being watched but he wasn't too mad, "What do you mean too perfect?"

"Look behind you."

Zev turned and saw the tree with a sign on it. The sign read love, Zev chuckled a little, "That's actually funny," Zev said as he pointed it out Leta. Leta wasn't really paying attention her face was a deep red from her blush and Zev couldn't help but wonder if it could be any redder.

Zev and Leta went with Osona to get the pictures developed. Osona had several cameras. Most of which were more personal pictures than the pictures she was required to take for the mission. Osona explained to Zev that was part of the mission. To pretend to be tourists in a city and look for any particular weak points, if it became necessary to burn it down.

Osona gave Zev and Leta the details of the mission to them as they waited for the photos to develop. Osona asked them where Utsuha was. Zev shrugged and told her he was probably out with Sashii. Osona gave a small chuckle when she heard that.

Osona made doubles of every picture, and she gave the picture of Zev and Leta to them. Zev pulled out his wallet and put it in it before they left. Osona turned to face Zev and Leta, "Did you notice?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," Zev said, Leta looked at Osona then to Zev.

"Notice what?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Osona told her. Osona ran off in the direction opposite the Hokage's home. Zev turned and began walking Leta home, _Kuro, I think we're being followed, so can you trail the man trailing us?_

_I'm already doing it, _the wolf thought back. Zev began wonder how long the wolf had been doing it and how Zev hadn't noticed the giant wolf, nor had anyone else for that matter. Leta couldn't help but feel nervous. Zev seemed to be concerned about something and neither Osona nor Zev were willing to tell her what. She decided to trust Zev, if he thought she was in danger he would have told her already.

She grew a little concerned when Zev walked her to her door. Zev knocked on the door, her father answered the door. Zev stepped behind Leta and had her go in, "We were followed," Zev told him. Leta turned when she heard him.

"What do you think you should do?" Her father asked.

"Nothing yet," he told the wolf to take the man. Naruto jumped as the giant wolf tacked the man and he appeared at the start of the sidewalk to his house, "Now I'll do something," Zev said turning. He walked up to the man and asked, "Who are you, and why were you following us?"

"_Ninpou-choujuu giga_!" the man shouted. A tiny black bird flew out of his shirt and took to the sky, "It doesn't matter what you do to me, because Lobo will know you're alive, Zev."

Zev pointed his index finger and middle finger at the bird, "Second level," he started, "_Saceno no jutsu!"_ a bolt of electricity shot out of his fingers and hit the bird.

"Ah…shit…" the man licked his lips, "Any chance you'll let me go?"

"None what so ever," Zev motioned to the Hokage, who walked over along with Leta, "You might want to get Anbu down here, tell them they don't have to hold back while torturing him."

"Who is he?" Leta asked.

"I don't know. Some one loyal to Lobo."

"Oh, that hurt Zev," the man on the ground said, "Don't you recognize me?"

Zev was confused, then there was a small explosion as a jutsu came undone, "Yukio?"

"You do remember!" the response from Zev was a kick in the face.


	27. Chapter 27 A Calm Disturbed

Author's notes: Nothing really, some people might make a connection between the Hokage's converstation and Hinata's to my one-shot, just in time for christmas.

Discliamer: Look at anyother chapter minus 21 and up.

Chapter 27 A Calm Disturbed

Zev was pacing back and forth in the town hall. Utsuha and Leta were watching him. Even a week later after having Yukio drop into their hands they hadn't gotten anything out of him. Sashii, Saken and Sahlhi had left to their village the day after. Utsuha was waiting for the mail to arrive as he and Sashii had been sending each other letters. Leta was trying to get Zev to calm down. Zev was worried about several things, one being the well being of his old friend, secondly was the state of the village, somehow someone guessed that he was here.

Eventually an Anbu member came out of the room, "He hasn't said a word," he proclaimed as he wiped blood of his hands, "You can try if you want, Zev."

Zev walked into the room, Leta went right behind him. Zev sat down in front of Yukio. Yukio's head was hanging and he was bleeding in several spots, "so, you've come to kick me while I'm down, huh Zev?"

"No, I want to know something."

"Good luck getting me to talk."

"How's Emiko?"

He was taken aback from the question, "She's… good…."

Leta activated her byakugan to see how Zev's aura was compared to Yukio's. Like it appeared to do often, Zev's was bearing down on Yuko's, "What about Jada? Is he alright?"

"Uh… yea… why are you asking?" every time Zev asked about the others in the village it seemed Yukio's red aura was greatly weakened.

"As much as I hated that village, I want to know how they are doing. How's Lobo, is he still just as evil as ever?"

"He's not evil, just his views are compared to everyone else. He sees the world as it is and he know what needs to change."

"I take that as a yes," Zev sighed, "How did you know I was here?"

Yukio laughed and looked at Leta, "So, you're hanging with this weakling?"

"He's not weak!" Leta shouted at him, which even surprised Zev coming from the normally very quiet Leta.

"Answer the question, if you work with me I might be able to pull some strings let you walk around the village even."

Yukio scoffed, "Yeah right, you and I both know there's no way that will happen."

"I've done the impossible before, I'm here in front of you aren't I?"

"Whatever," he shook his head as blood flowed over his eye.

"They really did a number on you didn't they?" Zev said as he reached up and began fixing his cuts.

"You can say that."

Leta was watching their auras fight, Yukio's looked much weaker than before but it wouldn't break. Zev asked another question, "Why did you start obeying Lobo?"

"Well one you left us out to die."

"What? When did I do that?"

"Before your clan decided to remove your head from your shoulders, you left me and Emiko in the village. You left us, Zev, so that we could die in your stead."

"No I didn't. I left to protect Leta from Lobo. Lobo was planning to kill her along with the man she was protecting. I saved them and led them out, I later found out I couldn't return to the village."

"So, you caused that little outrage by Lobo, huh? He came back in a fury yelling at the top of his lungs, 'When I find out who did that I'll tear him limb from limb' and I didn't think people could swear like that without invoking the wrath of some god," he paused and licked his lips, "Do you think I could get some water?" Zev got up and got him a glass of water. Yukio continued after he drank it, "I don't really know how but somehow that little outrage got directed at you. He started commanding his father to do away with you. It didn't take that long to get him to consent. Lobo started marching through out the village trying to find you. When he couldn't he started threatening us."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that would happen."

"It's a little late for a I'm sorry. Anyways soon enough since no one has heard from me from the village they'll be sending another spy."

Zev stood up and began walking out the door, he opened it and Leta walked out, "I'm really sorry, Yukio."

"I told you it's too late," Yukio said as the door closed.

Zev couldn't relax the next week. He often visited Yukio, but Yukio was just as unreceptive as when he was found out. He wondered how much was going on that he didn't know about. He guessed that no one actually knew he was here, since Yukio said they would send another spy. Zev sat up from his bed and sighed. He got up and decided to visit Yukio again. Maybe this time he would get him to listen.

While he was walking down the streets he saw Utsuha, he waved. Utsuha waved back and turned and said something to someone behind him. Utsuha ran toward Zev, "Zev, you have a visitor," a Kunochi stepped out from behind him.

"Emiko? What are you doing here?"

"I was sent as a spy for Lobo, he wants to send spies into all the villages that aren't allied with him. At least that's what he says but I think he has even more spies in the others."

"How many are here?"

"Just me, there was another but he hasn't reported back yet so I'm supposed to find out what happened and keep an eye out politically."

"That spy before you was Yukio. He almost gave away that I'm here."

"Yukio! I was told he went on a mission but not here! Can I see him?"

Zev nodded, "I was just on my way to see him. Leta helped me a little and managed to not get him executed," then he added as they began running to the prison, where Yukio was moved to, "for the moment."

When they arrived they found several Anbu members arguing with the Hokage, "Let's get rid of him now! If we make an exception with him who knows what that might cause!"

"He's a security risk," another Anbu added.

"We'll learn more with him alive," the Hokage said, "That's my final decision," when they didn't move to leave he shouted, "Do I need to make you leave!" as he began making hand signs for _Kage Bunshin no jutsu_. They quickly hurried out.

"Thank you… father…"

Naruto turned to face his daughter, "Don't thank me quite yet, I can't keep them off of him forever, we need something to make this decision worth it."

Emiko spoke up, "Mind if I try?" Leta saw Emiko and used her byakugan. She had Zev's blue aura.

Leta turned to her father and nodded, "Let her try I think she's good."

Her father was about to ask her about her choice of words but Emiko walked right in and he decided it didn't really matter. Zev walked in right behind Emiko and Leta followed him. Her father shrugged and ran off to meet with his wife.

"So, Emiko, you were caught too?" Yukio asked not raising his head.

"I wasn't caught, I willingly showed myself."

"Fool," Yukio said spitting out blood, "Your mission was to observe and notify Lobo of anything. If you hadn't shown yourself you would have know Zev was here then Lobo could have come."

"Why do you think I reveled myself?" Emiko asked. Leta activated her byakugan. Emiko's aura was bearing down on Yukio's like when Zev would talk to Yukio.

"What?"

"I reveled myself to talk to Zev, I don't care for our village as long as Lobo's ruling it. Just as I did before Zev was forced to leave," She said bending down to begin healing Yukio.

"You mean you still listen to him, even though he left us to die?" Yukio shouted.

"Do you think he intended for that?"

"That's what Lobo told me, and he didn't run off!"

"You should have been killed on sight when they discovered you. Zev and Leta have been trying to get Anbu to leave you alone, but they aren't exactly willing to listen on that," Leta breathed a sigh of relief when Yukio's aura disappeared.

"Zev," Yukio started, "You have to leave, now!"

"What?" Leta asked.

"I can write in blood if I have to. I learned that jutsu specifically for this mission. I wrote, 'Zev is here,' and sent it. Lobo will be here soon."

Zev clenched a fist, "Why would I leave when I can kill him? He'll be walking into a trap."

"Zev I don't doubt you can kill Lobo, but he's got a new sensei. His sensei's name is Orochimaru."

Zev instinctively put a hand on the curse seal. Keishin suddenly popped into his mind, _If one of you reminded me of her, thanks, _Zev thought, "I think it's time I got Khalon's forehead protector to Keishin," Zev stated. He started walking out the door to retrieve it.

He noticed that it had started raining outside. He shrugged as he walked out into the rain. Zev was about to break into a run when he heard Leta shout, "Wait, Zev!" She ran up to him, "I'll go with you!"

Zev shook his head, "I think it will be better if you stay here. Try to stay close to your father. Right now I need you to go tell him I'm forced to leave as Lobo is coming. Also, tell him that Orochimaru might be with him. Right now I have to go, I'll see you again," Then he ran off.

Leta stood there in the rain. She was glad that it was raining, because she was crying. Even though Zev said he would see her again, she couldn't shake the feeling that it would be a long time before she would see him again. She ran off to find her father.

The Hokage was sitting at one of the finer restaurants in town. He didn't like eating here but his wife did. Hinata dragged him to an actual restaurant once a month instead of letting him eating at any one of the ramen stands around.

"Remember when you asked me if I liked you way back then? It was a lot like tonight."

The Hokage nodded, "Yea, if I remember correctly, Sakura knocked me upside the head and told me about you before I asked. My head hurts thinking about, believe it!" he said rubbing his head.

"Well, to be truly honest, you weren't that bright back then," she said giggling.

"No I wasn't," he said swirling his tea in his glass thoughtfully, "in fact I'm a little surprised at how stupid I was."

"Well, it all turned out for the best."

He shook his head, "It's not good enough. I shouldn't have let Kakashi and Gai get killed like that."

"Naruto, you can't beat yourself up over that forever. It's in the past," she said putting her hand on his.

He clenched a fist and then relaxed, "I know you're just trying to be nice and help me get over it, but you see how Sakura is about! Hell, even Saskue is a little emotional about it," he jerked up as the door to the restaurant burst open, "Leta?" he said aloud.

She saw him and ran over, "Father, Zev has to leave the village for a while. Lobo is coming here, Yukio told us. He's bring his new sensei with. I think his name is Oro…Orochi-" Leta stopped forgetting his name as she once again began to mumble.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto finished, "Hinata, go inform Saskue. He'll know who else to inform and he knows how to deal with him the best," Hinata nodded and ran off.

"Father… should…should I go with Zev?"

He shook his head, "No, I think it will be better if you stay here. Go home I'm going to talk to Zev if I can catch him."


	28. Chapter 28 storm

Author's Notes: Sorry, I jsut had to do that Dynamic entry! Also the thousand years of death, technique. I originally wanted Naruto to do it at some point, but oh well...

Disclaimer: Look at any chapter.

Chapter 28 Storm

Zev ran to his house, Kuro had already found the forehead protector and was waiting. Zev didn't need anything else so he closed up his house and began to run to the front gate. He found Utsuha at the gate with his father Saskue and his mother Sakura. They were talking to Sashii, Saken, and Sahlhi talking. Sahlhi waved to Zev. Zev stopped and talked to them, "What's up? I don't really have time to talk."

"Well remember how you told us about that jutsu? Um…," Saken began snapping his fingers trying to remember it, "_Junsui ten Tensei_! That's it, well Sahlhi did a little bit of study, and he thinks that if you use primarily my chakra, you'll be able to perform it. I was thinking we could try."

Zev wanted to get out of there as soon as possible but Kuro nudged him, "Five extra minutes wouldn't hurt."

Zev didn't see any harm in trying, "Alright," he said, "You're going to have to do the hand signs with me," Zev held out his right hand. Saken used his left to mimic Zev. It took him a while to get the process down right but he eventually got it.

They performed the hand signs together then Zev punched the ground, "Maito Gai!" he shouted. His fist went deep into the ground. He buried his arm up to his shoulder. Various symbols went out from the whole Zev's arm was in. They formed together to make the name Maito Gai and then Zev took his arm out of the whole. Inside the hole was a dark purple mist. The name slid along the ground and went into the hole then the hole sealed up. They performed the jutsu again. When Zev punched the ground again he shouted, "Hatake Kakashi!" The same thing happened as with the first time. This time the name spelled was Hatake Kakashi.

The Hokage appeared, "I finally found you. What was that? I felt a strong out pouring of chakra…."

"We're attempting a forbidden jutsu, did it work Zev?"

Zev nodded, "If it's been six or more years since the person died the punch doesn't make the hole. If they're alive the name doesn't get spelled, but unfortunately if that is the case they still take a life. They should be resurrected soon…," he said sitting down exhausted.

"Who?" the Hokage asked.

A rift appeared behind him, "Dynamic entry!" he heard a voice he hadn't heard in years shout. Gai came rushing through the rift and he kicked Naruto from behind. When Naruto got up he shouted to some spectators who were watching him go flying, "Go get Lee!" one of the spectators nodded and ran off.

Another rift opened. Naruto sat and watched the rift for about a minute. Gai turned and looked at the rift as well. Eventually Kakashi walked out, "What a minute, what are we doing here the last thing I remember is watching Gai get stabbed from behind."

Sakura ran up and hugged her mentor, "Sensei!" she shouted.

"Wow, you look a lot different from when I last saw you, Sakura." He looked up and saw Saskue, "Saskue?" Saskue nodded, "Wow, you look a lot older."

"I'm five years older than when you last saw me. So is Naruto," He motioned to Naruto who was sitting on the ground, "Sakura, my wife now," to which she smiled, "and everyone else."

"Five years?"

"Gai-sensei!" they heard Lee shout.

Gai turned and saw Lee, "Lee!" he shouted as they hugged.

"The same as ever," was Naruto's response as he began to wonder where the waves and the sandy beach came from, like he did every other time he saw this.

Kakashi walked up to Naruto, "So, Naruto, are you still the prankster you were when I last saw you?"

"I'd be a little more respectful sensei," Sakura said, "He's not the genin he was before…."

"Or the chuunin or the joinin," Naruto finished for her.

"So you're Anbu?" Naruto pointed up to the Hokage faces, "Oh…," was all Kakashi could say looking at the faces. Up there was the unmistakable face of Naruto.

Zev had some trouble standing up but when he finally got up he said, "I should get out of here as soon as possible," he tried to take a step but all his energy was gone and he fell over. He pushed himself up out of sheer will power, "Damn," he said as he tried to stand again, "that took more out of me than I thought it would."

Saken helped him up, "I thought you used only my chakra."

Zev shook his head, "It's actually a kekkei genkai, I had to use a little of my own. Apparently that drained me," he swore as he fell again. Kuro stood next to him so Zev could use him to help him stand.

The wolf sighed, "Look, I can give you my energy so you can get to the village, but you have to take someone with, also as soon as you're able you have to summon me again."

"What do you mean?"

"If I give you my chakra I'll have to disappear," the wolf explained, "I don't like it but…" the wolf trailed off as Zev fell again even holding on to the giant wolf.

"Okay," Zev nodded, "I'll do it," the wolf nodded and began to disperse. His fur turned into chakra which settled on Zev. Before long the wolf disappeared.

The Hokage said, "That reminds me, Zev, I think you should take a team with you. Can you wait a day longer?"

Sahlhi spoke up before Zev got a chance to say anything, "We'll go with him," he looked at Saken and Sashii, "it won't be a problem, right?"

Saken nodded, Sashii looked at Utsuha, "Sorry," she looked back at Sahlhi, "Yeah, we can go."

Saskue spoke up, "I think Utsuha should go with."

The Hokage shook his head, "I think we might need him here." Utsuha was a little upset that he didn't get to go but he was glad that the Hokage said that he was needed. The Hokage continued, "Utsuha, I think during this whole time you should train I think your parents and I know who can help you a lot," he looked at Saskue who nodded.

"I wonder if we're thinking the same thing." Saskue said.

Sahlhi spoke up, "Zev, are you ready to go? I'm guessing by that forehead protector to the Village Hidden in the Mist." Zev nodded and Sahlhi made three boards of sand. He stepped on the one in front of him. Saken and Zev did the same on the boards he made for them. Sashii let her wings out and began to fly up.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, "So, what are you two thinking?"

"That you're going to train Utsuha and Leta."

"Who's Leta?" Kakashi asked.

"My daughter, I hope you'll be on time tomorrow. However in the meantime, I think we should get you and Gai up to speed," Naruto looked around, he couldn't find Gai or Lee, "Where'd they go?"

Zev looked at Sahlhi who was doing some tricks on his board. He looked up and watched Sashii for a while, and then he looked at Saken who had his eyes closed, "So," he started, "what are you all watching?"

Sahlhi hopped off the board and made it flip underneath him, "So you noticed huh?" Zev nodded. He looked back and Saken had opened his eyes. They were entirely black, "Lobo is on the move right now. Sashii wanted to see how you guys were doing so she used her jutsu and-" Zev cut him off.

"She can see that far?"

"Yes, anyways she accidentally stumbled across him. If you had waited another day, you would have been caught by him. Two people are walking with him. I don't know who. Sashii and Saken are trying to figure that out."

"One's name is Orochimaru, he's his new sensei," Sahlhi was silent, _no doubt he realizes the implications of this, _Zev thought. Zev knew that he had yet to truly understand everything that this could cause. If Orochimaru was teaching Lobo than Lobo probably was a great deal stronger than before. Zev guessed Orochimaru's plan was to take Lobo's body and use it as his own. Zev wondered if that was possible with the two demons inside his clan. If it was that was a serious problem if Orochimaru could use his kekkei genkai there would be very few people who could even last more than thirty seconds against him, also Orochimaru might be able to bypass the limit Lobo has.

Zev shuddered as he began getting a better idea of what could possibly happen. In a best case scenario, there would be a second Orochimaru, one that once called himself Lobo. "That makes sense," Sahlhi said, "The other person is a girl, I think she's about you're age."

"That's Semiko, she was my fiancée," he muttered under his breath, "thank God she's not anymore," he heard Sahlhi laugh, "what?"

"They're stopping, Semiko must have finally gotten the other two to stop and rest for her. Lobo looks very fed up."

Zev couldn't help but laugh.

The next day Leta showed up early to the training grounds. Her father had gone with her. He was going to watch the whole session. Osona was there but she said she wasn't going to be training them. Leta sat down next to Osona. She had heard Lobo had arrived already. There was a major fight when he tried to get into the village with out going through all the proper customs. Leta hadn't felt relaxed since. Even though she was right next to Osona she felt alone. She didn't think anyone knew what she was going through. She sat there somewhat depressed for a long time. She began wondering where Utsuha was. She looked around and couldn't find him. She guessed it was still early.

Utsuha came running up. She noticed he was breathing, "What… what were you doing?" she asked quietly.

"Oh I just did several laps," Utsuha said, "I think that time we spent training with Lee did a lot for me."

Leta looked at her hands, "Oh…" Osona raised an eyebrow and looked at him while turning the page.

"You know you should keep running like that too. You'll get much stronger." Leta kept staring at her hands, "Leta, are you going to be like you were at the chuunin exams? You're acting like you are," Utsuha told her concerned.

Leta shook her head, "I'll be alright, I'm just a little afraid with Lobo here." Utsuha nodded. He was a little scared too. But he was more afraid of the S class security risk, Orochimaru.

He sat down next to Leta and sighed. He looked for a clock. He noticed that there were three figures watching them from a distance. One was a female, the other two were guys one was taller than the other. If Utsuha hadn't known that Zev had a twin he would have thought that Zev had dyed his hair red and was looking at them.

"Don't look now but we are being watched," Leta seemed to stiffen a little but she didn't look, "I think its Lobo, Semiko and Orochimaru."

Osona spoke up, "He calls himself Nagäku…"

Leta didn't look up, she wanted Zev to be there, but she knew he couldn't. She sighed, "I wish I could have gone."

"But then you wouldn't get to train with me," Kakashi said from above on one of the rocks in the training ground, "Sorry about being late, things have kind of changed since I was last here." He was holding a book. Osona recognized the book, it was written by Jiraiya, one of the three legendary Sanin. Only Orochimaru still lived from that group.

Kakashi hopped down. A bell jingled from his waist, "Okay here's the goal for today's training. Take this bell from me. The one who gets the bell gets lunch. The other is going to have to sit and watch the other eat. You have till noon."

Utsuha guessed he had an hour to get the bell. He stood up and poised to move. Leta got up slowly. He looked at her, _She would need the food more than I would…_

"Ready?" Kakashi asked. Leta instinctively moved. She had picked up that habit from training with Zev. Kakashi was slightly taken aback by her sudden attack. He regained composer and threw her over his shoulder, "Don't be in such a rush," he instructed.

Utsuha saw an opening for an attack. He attacked Kakashi from behind. Utsuha swung at air "Where are you looking?" Utsuha looked behind him.

_He's fast, _Utsuha thought, _but I can go faster,_ Utsuha jumped behind Kakashi. He swung a kick at Kakashi. He hit Kakashi and there was a small explosion. When the smoke cleared there was a log in Kakashi's place.

"Thousand years of death!" Kakashi shouted.

"Oh for the love of…" Naruto said shaking his head as Kakashi did the humiliating jutsu. He was glad to see that Utsuha had used a substitution jutsu before Kakashi used the technique on him. It was embarrassing enough to know that he had fallen for it in the past.

Utsuha appeared next to Leta, "Leta, how about this, we work together you can keep the lunch I don't need it as badly as you do. This way he can't say we didn't win."

Leta nodded, "Okay… why don't you summon Sharu?"

Utsuha smacked himself in the head, _Why didn't I think of that? _he wondered. He held his hand up "_Jinryu_ _yubu_!" he shouted. There was an explosion of fire as the dragon was summoned.

Kakashi turned and looked at the creature, "Well, looks like I won't be able to read at all." He watched the creature fly up into the sky with Utsuha and Leta on its back. Utsuha jumped down and landed to the right of Kakashi. Leta jumped and landed to the left of Kakashi, and the dragon landed roaring from behind Kakashi. Leta activated her Byakugan as Utsuha activated his sharingan. Utsuha did a fire style jutsu as Leta watched to see where Kakashi would jump so she could direct Sharu where to blow his fireball.

She blinked, Kakashi didn't jump, "Where…where did… he go?"

"_Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu_!" Kakashi shouted as he pulled Leta underneath the ground leaving her head exposed. He shouted it again as he pulled Utsuha under.

He did a combination of the jutsu with his chidori to take Sharu out of the picture. He stood up out of the ground, "You know, at this rate you won't get a bell."

Zev had arrived at the land of waves the day before. He spent the night at a hotel he didn't want to disturb Inari. He kicked himself for not realizing that he would need someone to show him to the hidden village, "It's called a hidden village for a reason!" he said as he smacked himself upside the head.

"Hey, relax!" Sahlhi told him, "Good things come to those who wait."

"I am waiting!" Zev shouted.

"Patiently," Sahlhi added. There was a knock at the door. Sahlhi answered it and smiled, "See?" he said steeping out of the door way.

"I heard there was a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves here, did you bring the forehead protector?"

Zev held it up, "Yeah I did, how did you know I was here?"

Keishin smiled and bounced on her toes, "Just a lucky guess, I guess."

Zev couldn't help but smile, "So is it possible for me to go with you to your village for a while."

Keishin nodded her head, "We'll have to wait about two days before we can go me Jin and Amaya have some business here before we can go."

Zev nodded, he suddenly remembered that he had yet to summon Kuro again. He did the summoning and the wolf turned on him, "What took you so long!" the wolf shouted at him.

"Hey I just remembered! I've been a little busy!" Zev said in his own defense.

"Whatever," Kuro said turning.

Keishin laughed, she could tell the wolf wasn't that angry, "Well, I'll be by in two days. Oh yeah, Inari heard your in town he's looking for you."

Leta struggled against the bonds that Kakashi had tied her with. She looked over at Utsuha who was tied to a neighboring post. He was trying much harder than she was. She looked back at Kakashi who was reading his book sitting next to Naruto. She hung her head and sighed, "It's hopeless I can't break these…."

"Quitting is for losers," Utsuha said trying again to break the bonds. He started to get one to snap, "see?" he groaned as Kakashi tied another cord of rope around him.

Leta sat there staring at the ground, _what would Zev do, he'd be able to break out of here, _Leta thought.

"_He wouldn't stop for one," _Leta heard a voice that sounded exactly like Zev's. She didn't notice the resemblance of the voices but she got the message. She kept pushing against her bonds, _"He wouldn't stop till you were free," _the voice once again reminded her.

Utsuha stopped struggling long enough to look at Leta, "Whoa."

Kakashi and Naruto felt a strong wave of chakra pass by. They both looked at the source. There was chakra swirling around Leta, "I don't think that's a good thing," Kakashi said.

The chakra had two colors. Part of it was red while the other part was white. The red chakra rubbed against the bonds and the bonds began snapping. The white was in between Leta and the red chakra. It broke through the surface of the red chakra occasionally which was what allowed Kakashi and Naruto to see that it was white.

Lobo was watching the display from far away, "Sensei!" he hated using that word but he knew that Orochimaru was indeed his sensei, "Can you see that?"

Orochimaru nodded, "Do have an idea of what that is?"

"I'm guessing chakra but I haven't seen anything like that."

"Nagäku, do you know what that is?" Semiko asked him. She had already grown accustomed to calling him Nagäku.

He nodded, "I haven't seen anything like that in a long time," he licked his lips, "it was when I fought the Hokage. That's a demon's chakra…."

Leta screamed as she tore through the ropes. She grabbed the ropes binding Utsuha and they tore when he hand touched them. Utsuha flew at Kakashi. Kakashi dove to the side, _"Saceno no jutsu!" _Leta shouted as she began to bring the chakra to her palm.

She was surprised at the result she got.

A bolt of lightning shot out of her hand and stuck Kakashi. She looked at her palm as the waves of chakra around her died down. Leta stared at her hand as Utsuha took the bell off of Kakashi, who found he was paralyzed. Utsuha had to resist borrowing Kakashi's wallet. Utsuha walked over and gave Leta the bell. Kakashi managed to smile a little, _Well at least they got the idea of teamwork down somewhat,_ he thought.

Lobo heard Leta shout, '_Saceno no jutsu' _he looked at Semiko, "So that's the girl you were talking about?" she nodded, "well, I wonder if we can get her to obey us," he said laughing, _and by us I mean me._

Zev went off to find Inari. It wasn't that hard. He could have asked anyone and they would have told him. He was making repairs to the bridge. Zev found him hanging on to the side of the bridge screwing some new screws into the side of the bridge. With the constant mist it around the bridge it was difficult to keep it from rusting. He was taking some screws out that where rusted, "Hey I heard you where looking for me?"

Inari waved to him, "Yes I was. Can you come down here?"

Zev hopped over the side of the bridge and kept himself sealed by using his chakra, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Kuro was waiting on top of the bridge. He saw someone take out a knife, _What's he doing,_ he wondered as the man approached the line keeping Inari held up.

"Well, it's only been rumors, but I've heard that there is someone who wants me dead. Some thing about-" he didn't get a chance to finish the sentence.

Kuro roared as he attacked the man who cut the rope. The man fainted when he saw the massive wolf attacking him. Zev grabbed the rope as it rushed past him. He got a burn from the rope as it went through his hands. But he ignored the pain and managed to hold onto Inari. He pulled Inari back up, "I guessing that those rumors have quite a bit of truth in him," he said when he got Inari back up. Inari nodded.

Zev heard Kuro laughing, "What's so funny?" he asked him.

"I made him piss himself."

"Who is he?"

"He's the one who cut Inari's rope. I attacked him after he cut it and he pissed himself and fainted."

Zev walked up to the man, "Dumb ass, wake up!" he shouted at him as he kicked him. The man doubled over and groaned, "Tell me what I need to know and I won't let Kuro here eat you. Why did you cut Inari's rope?"

"Money," the man answered.

"Who was paying you?"

"Go to hell."

"Kuro?" the wolf licked his chops.

"A man from the Village Hidden in the Rain, he had red hair and red eyes!"

_I'm loving this_! Kuro thought as he watched the man's face.

"Why did he want him dead, and if he was a ninja why didn't he come and do it himself?"

"Please don't let him eat me!"

"I won't if you answer the damn question!"

"He wants to get control of this town. To…uh…," the wolf licked his chops again, "to use it to black mail the Village Hidden in the Mist! He didn't come because he had to go to another village as soon as possible!"

"How long will he be there?"

"I don't know."

Zev picked him up and held him over the side of the bridge, "How about now?"

"A month! He'll leave the village a month from today!"

"That's better," Zev threw him back onto the bridge, "Inari, what do you want to do with him?"

Inari shrugged, "I don't really know."

"Can I eat him?"

_You eat humans? That's slightly disturbing._

_I don't, I just like seeing his face when I say that._

Zev shook his head, "No you may not eat him, I told him I wouldn't let you," the man gave a sigh of relief, "However," the man panicked again, "I still need to figure out what to do with him…," the man relaxed slightly, "are you from a Hidden Village?" Zev asked.

"No, I'm just a man looking for a bit of money."

"Then we can let a court decide what to do with him. No guarantees that it will be better than getting eaten by Kuro…" the man whimpered as Zev dragged him off.

Kuro was laughing the whole time he was with Inari while Zev took the man off to jail.


	29. Chapter 29 Ties that Bind

Author's notes Not much really, I based the Village Hidden in the Waves, actually, on the sound. Besides that, not much. Oh yeah, I got the idea for the connection between Leta and Zev from a song.

Disclaimer: look at all the other chapters

Chapter 29 Ties that bind

Leta gasped as Lobo cornered her, "What's so different about you?" he shouted at her. He had spent the last two days trying to get her under his influence. It was driving him insane that he couldn't get anyone in this village to obey his influence, "Why won't you listen to me?"

"Please… let me go," Leta was scared. Lobo hadn't left her alone since he she had unleashed that power during the training session the other day.

"_Lobo, let her go, I can't even see what's in her mind." _

_Damn it! _Lobo thought, he had began listening to the brutal and inhuman voice since he had died and come back to life. He backed away from Leta, _why can't I control her like I do the others? _he wondered.

"_Relax, take it easy. I'll smooth things out…" _the voice promised soothingly.

Lobo was angry at the whole ordeal. He almost wished he could go on to the next village. But Orochimaru warned him that if he arrived too soon to after he had grabbed the Land of Waves Village, someone might get suspicious that Inari was targeted by Lobo.

Leta ran away when she got a chance, this was the eighth time that Lobo had cornered her asking what was so different about her today. She shivered, she wished he would just leave her alone but he wouldn't. She had asked her father to let her, Utsuha, and Niku, who was off the active duty roster as the rest of his team was injured after the last mission, could go on a mission far away. Her father had denied the request, feeling that if she was around Lobo wouldn't think to go talk to Yukio or Emiko. They had left the village for a while to avoid contact with Lobo.

It didn't make any sense to Leta but it seemed to work. Lobo never went looking for Emiko or Yukio rather he seemed to just be angry at everything a lot. One thing Leta had noticed is that his anger seemed to spread. Everyone who interacted with him seemed to get a little angrier each time.

She went up on the face of the third hokage. She found Osona sitting reading her book. She sat next to Osona, "What do you want?" she asked Leta very angry.

Leta stood up, "Oh… well… I just thought-"

"Oh it's you Leta. I thought it was Lobo, he's be bothering me since he got here."

"Me too."

Osona smiled, "I have to admit, Leta, this spot you found is perfect. Since I came up here only you came and talked to me."

"Thanks…" Leta said a little sad. She looked down on the village. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sighed.

"Hey, cheer up, Zev will be back soon."

Leta looked at Osona. Osona had already returned to her book, "I wish I believed that…" Leta said quietly. Osona turned the page. Leta wasn't sure she heard her.

Zev sat staring at the ceiling of the cabin. He was on the boat with Keishin and her squad. Zev had sat in his cabin since the short voyage started. They were going to meet someone else by boat on the sea but that was going to be the only stop. Zev sat up, _Everything will be alright, you'll be able to see Leta again soon, _Kuro told him from the deck.

_I wish I believed that, _Zev thought as he walked out of his cabin. When he came out on deck he found Amaya petting Kuro. Zev shook his head, _You and women, _he thought.

_What? _Kuro asked giving a mental shrug. Then he added, _You're just jealous._

Zev sighed and looked around the deck. Jin was on one side of the boat. Zev felt sorry for her as she tossed up her lunch. Zev had wondered why she ate so little for lunch, now he knew. He found Keishin leaning against the mast of the boat. She sat there with her eyes closed and the wind blowing in her hair. Zev walked past her as he went to the bow of the ship. She grabbed his wrist, "Leta's closer than you think, Zev," then she let go.

Zev stood out on the bow of the ship. He held onto a line to help him keep his balance. It wouldn't be long until they were to meet up with the other ship. Zev suddenly began feeling as if something was drastically wrong. He looked back at the others. They didn't seem to be bothered. He saw that Keishin's joinin seemed a little uncomfortable but he didn't know if it was the feeling or if she was sea sick.

Zev looked out to the sea. In the short time he had turned they had sailed into a fog bank. Zev began feeling even more uncomfortable. Zev drew a sword. Keishin looked at him as did Amaya. Jin didn't move from her spot on the side of the boat. Keishin's joinin walked up behind Zev, "You feel that too?"

Zev nodded, he looked down and saw planks of wood, "Look down there," he said pointing at the wood, "Looks like something happened.

A larger piece went by with a man floating on it, "Man overboard!" Keishin's sensei shouted. Instead of waiting for a rope and all the other rescue equipment, Zev jumped over and used his chakra to keep himself on top of the water. He picked the man up and jumped back on the boat. He looked at him and saw he was barely alive.

"What happened?" Amaya wondered aloud.

"Th-th-the Kraken!" the man said.

"Don't speak, save your energy," Osona ordered, "Keishin take him below deck. I think he's a little crazy right now."

Zev stood up as Keishin did as she was told. There was a faint sound that Zev could barely pick up, "Do you hear that?" Zev asked the others. Any response was drowned out as the sound picked up into a loud roar, "Still think that man is crazy!" Zev shouted over the roar.

Any response from her was drowned out by Jin's screams as a giant tentacle came over the side of the boat. Zev drew his sword and attempted to cut the tentacle. Its tough hide prevented that from happening. The tentacle attempted to grab Jin. Her sensei dove and grabbed her. The tentacle grabbed her and threw her around knocking her unconscious, "Sensei!" Keishin shouted. She surprised Zev because he never heard her panic like that before in the time he spent with her.

Zev got an idea. He ran up the mast using his chakra control. He jumped off the top and used a _Relatzer no Jutsu_ to drive himself down. His sword cut the tentacle that was now attempting to capsize the boat. There was a cry of distress as the tentacle slipped off the boat. He caught Amaya's premature sigh of relief.

Zev watched as a creature that looked like a squid a thousand times bigger than normal rose out of the water. There was a shinobi from a village Zev didn't recognize on top of it. the symbol on his head band was a circle of waves. Zev grew apprehensive after looking at the Ninja. His clothing matched the color of the sea perfectly. He wore gloves that were the same color as well. Zev doubted he would have been able to see the man if wasn't outlined by the sky. He had black hair that fell to his shoulders.

Zev couldn't hear the man over the roaring of the Kraken. Although he could see that he was saying something. Another tentacle began to try to tip the boat. Zev attempted to cut it with out much success. He began charging the sword with chakra. He swung down as hard as he could. The sword barely scratched the surface. He looked for Kuro. Kuro was attacking another tentacle that was trying to grab the Kunochi hiding their sensei. Zev used _Relatzer_ _no Jutsu _to build up force to hack through the tentacle. He used another to protect the women.

Zev checked on all the girls to ensure they were all right. He turned and saw the Kraken coming closer to the boat. Zev could see the creature's mouth. He watched as another tentacle come on board. Zev shouted, "_Chidorian!" _He grabbed a tentacle. Then he sent the jutsu through it.

The Kraken roared, "Real smart Zev, piss the damn thing off!" Kuro shouted.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, if cutting its damn tentacles off didn't do it!" Zev shouted back. He was barely audible over the Kraken.

The next attack came from the Ninja. He made hand signs completely unrecognizable to Zev. Zev gasped as a giant tidal wave exploded out of the ocean. Kuro howled and his dark wind split the wave in two barely avoiding disaster. Zev ran out onto the water. He formed a _Fuubakun no Jutsu. _He ran up into the Kraken's mouth. He stuck his hand in and unleashed the jutsu before it could bite his arm off. Zev was surprised when it didn't shred into pieces of flesh the way a creature would, but it exploded like when a jutsu became undone.

Zev didn't have time to wonder what exactly happened when the man came falling down. Zev prepped a _fuubakun no jutsu_. But when the man landed in front of him he fell into the water. Zev didn't like that and got back on the boat immediately.

Keishin stood up, "I thought the kraken was only a legend!"

Zev shook his head, "Well, it might be. I think it was a summoning."

Kuro nodded, "I think so too. When it disappeared the taste of its blood disappeared with it."

Zev turned and looked at the wolf, looked back out at the sea then back at the wolf, "Right, anyways we should get to your village as soon as possible."

Keishin looked at the sky, "There's no wind anymore. We won't be able to go that fast."

Zev smiled, "Kuro, I think we can change that, don't you?"

The wolf smiled and got behind the sail, He howled at the sail and it caught his wind and they began speeding away. Zev sat down and drifted to sleep.

Leta had been practicing her techniques against Sharu. It wasn't going well. If Sharu hadn't been able to do jutsus it might have been going better but Utsuha was helping the dragon. Leta's entire body was sore from the pummeling she had taken from the dragon. Now she was lying against a rock watching Utsuha go through his own training.

"Having a bit of trouble, huh?" she heard a voice say behind her.

She didn't need to turn, "Why…why… why are you here?" she asked Lobo.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you weren't happy to see me," Lobo said trying to spread his influence over Leta. Leta did not respond. He sighed, "Well, how about this? I can teach you a couple techniques from our village. It seems that you can do these ones."

Leta wanted to shake her head no, but she wanted to get stronger so she could help Zev on his missions. She slowly said, "All right."

Lobo smiled, "Okay let's go some where else. You won't have that much room here," he laughed inwardly, _Finally I'm getting somewhere! _

"_No you aren't she's doing this out of a desire to be stronger. I'm having a lot of difficulty accessing her thoughts but I think that's what she's thinking," _the wolf said.

Lobo ignored the unwanted statement. He brought Leta into the forest. He turned and said to her, "You seem to have the first level of_ Saceno no jutsu _down so I'll teach you the second level," He pointed at a tree with his index and middle fingers. Fire appeared at the tips of his fingers, "You have to gather your chakra to your finger tips, like so. Then imagine a half of a sphere coming down behind your fingers cutting of your chakra flow," using his other hand he showed her by cupping his hand and making a curving motion where she should imagine it, "then release," then he shouted, "Second level, _Saceno no jutsu!" _The fire at the tips of his fingers exploded. A bolt of fire shot out from the explosion and hit the tree. The entire tree burst into flames.

Leta jumped when Lobo did the jutsu. She looked at him then at the tree. She gulped and attempted it herself. She could get her chakra to her finger tips but she couldn't imagine the sphere cutting off her chakra. Lobo sat there watching her. He couldn't shake the feeling he had seen her before somewhere. He thought hard. He began to stare at the lightning emanating from Leta's fingers. He suddenly remembered the night back when he attempted to kill Dosu.

Leta screamed when she was slammed against a tree. He picked her up by her throat, "You where there when I tried to kill Dosu weren't you? My brother helped you didn't he!"

Leta couldn't think of anything to say. Her thoughts scattered when she saw the animalistic look in his eyes, "Pl-pl-please…," was all she could get out. She was beginning to drift unconscious when he let her go. She fell on her knees gasping for air. She put her hand on her throat.

Lobo turned away, _Damn it… _he thought as he walked away.

Zev shouted as he woke up. He looked around. He didn't recognize the room he was in. He looked down and realized he was in a bed. The door open and Keishin was standing there, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing it was just a dream, where am-"

Keishin cut him off, "What was the dream?"

"I dreamed I was walking with Leta. Lobo was with us. He was teaching her the second level of _Saceno no jutsu. _Suddenly he slammed her against a tree and said, 'You where there when I tried to kill Dosu weren't you? My brother helped you didn't he!' then Leta panicked. She barely managed a word. He let her go and then I woke up."

Keishin licked her lips then sat down next to Zev, "Zev, I think it might have been a reality," she held up a hand to silence Zev, "I don't know how but I think you and Leta have a strong connection," she put her hand over Zev's heart, "It's weird. I can see how she is just by looking at you here. Somehow you two are intertwined."

After a long silence Zev asked, "Where am I?"

"We're in the Village Hidden in the Mist. We made it in half the time it would normally take with Kuro's help."

"Where is he?"

"He's sleeping too, can't you hear him?"

Zev listened hard for a second and realized eh could hear the wolf snoring, "Yeah, sorry about that. I can't get him to disappear."

Keishin shrugged, "It's not too bad. I used to live with three brothers and my father who snored so I'm kind of used to it."

Keishin stood up, "What's wrong?" Zev asked, "You're not acting like yourself."

Keishin sighed, "We found out Lobo has been trying to blackmail this village into attacking the Leaf Village. He was planning on using the other villages to attack the Sand Village."

Zev jumped up, "What!"

Keishin nodded, "His plans failed, but this country is frightened now. He holds a lot of power."

Zev punched the wall, a normal reaction for him. He felt slightly guilty when his hand broke through the wall, "Sorry," he apologized as he brought his hand out of the wall.

Keishin smiled, which comforted Zev somewhat, "It's okay. I was planning on remodeling this room anyways."

Zev walked out of the room with Keishin. He was tempted to kick Kuro awake. The wolf was lying on his back leaning against the wall. It was a funny picture. Keishin laughed when she looked at the wolf, "Funny to think the other day he was defending us against the Kraken."

"Hey!"

"Oh, and you too, Zev."

"That's better," Zev said but judging by Keishin's smile she was trying to get a rise out of him, so he didn't feel much better.

"Oh right! I forgot to tell you! There's rumor that there is another hidden village now."

"Really?"

"Yea, rumor has it called The Village Hidden in the Sea."

"Well we know it exists now. I wonder how it was founded."

"Actually there was a team of ninja sent out to find out about that. We're keeping this quiet for now. We don't want any chances of a mass panic. And with the recent discovery of Lobo's plans…" she trailed off, "So," she said regaining her smile, "What do you want to do? I got nothing for the next month."

Zev shrugged, "Well, I guess I should get somewhat familiar with the Village. I think I'm staying here for a month. Since that's how long Lobo will be in the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Zev said, but he felt something was wrong.

Leta jerked awake, she looked around. She was in the forest where Lobo left her. She had fallen unconscious. Utsuha was kneeling next to her, "What happened?"

"Lobo… he was… teaching me, but… he was about to kill me…. I don't know why he left."

"I was talking about your dream, you were screaming in your sleep."

"I had a dream… where Zev was trapped, he was in an illusion. He didn't realize it… but he was trapped. I tried screaming but I couldn't. When I finally screamed, I woke up."

"Don't worry it was just a dream."

Leta shook her head, "I don't think so. It felt so real…."

Zev put his hand on the door, "Zev!" he heard a voice shout.

"Leta?" he said turning.

"Leta's not here." Keishin said.

"I thought I just heard her."

"I didn't hear anything."

"I know I heard her," Zev looked around. Suddenly everything seemed off.

"It's probably just your imagination..."

Zev realized something. He didn't have his swords, "Where are my swords?"

"You don't need them, its okay."

Zev decided to do a small test, "What's Kuro's full name?"

"Huh?"

"What's his name?"

"Kurofu, you know that!"

"You don't."

Keishin lost her smile, "What?"

"I never told you his full name," Zev began to stop the flow of chakra to his brain. The walls, Keishin, and everything else began to wavier. Suddenly he was back on the water. The Ninja was in front of him. He was pushing against Zev with his own sword. His sword was a long thin blade. The hilt of the sword in the shape of a fish, the sword followed along the ninja's arm to his elbow. Another blade which was blue spread out from the hilt to the elbow on the sword protecting the wielder's forearm. Zev began to push back against the strange sword.

"How did you break free?" the ninja asked.

"I had some help. Now tell me why you attacked us!"

The Ninja jumped back, "First tell me this, who is Lobo to you?"

"He's my brother and mortal enemy."

The ninja relaxed, "Then did you know that ship you were was supposed to send a message of destruction to the Village Hidden in the Mist?"

Zev relaxed as well, "What are you talking about?"

The Ninja nodded, "He had a plan in place in case he failed to kill Inari. My Village, the Village Hidden in the Sea, was to attack the Hidden Mist Village. It was recently formed by him and Orochimaru about two years ago," Zev realized that meant Lobo had been planning this whole thing for two years, "Orochimaru's hand in the matter wasn't reveled to anyone, but I made the connection to him and Nagäku. "

Zev looked into the Ninja's eyes. He decided he was telling the truth, 'I think you are telling the truth, but if you prove my trust misplaced, you're not going to like what I have in store for you…"

The Ninja smiled, "My name's Noriko, and your going to find your trust well placed."

Noriko and Zev walked back to the boat. When they got back they explained all that Noriko had told Zev. When they had finished Keishin nodded, "He's telling the truth."

Although Noriko was glad she believed him he wanted to know why, "Why are you so certain?"

"I can sense people's feelings, or emotions," she explained. Noriko laughed, "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I can do that with one of my jutsus. I just used it back there to look into Zev and create a believable illusion."

"I use my talent to fight as well. Did you notice that _thing _about Zev?"

"What about me?"

Noriko nodded, "I did."

"What? I'm getting confused."

"I told you about it while you were under my genjutsu. It was really weird. Your mind took control of the jutsu for a spilt second and acted like it was dream. You're connected to some girl. Leta I believe," He said as he held out a pinky finger, "You also have several other weaker connections, but none of them are as strong as the one you have connecting you to Leta."

"Can you feel it?" Keishin asked, "Be still for a moment."

Zev did as he was instructed, after a few moments of silence, he could feel someone breathing. He knew it was Leta. He smiled, no one needed to tell him that it was her.


	30. Chapter 30 Bitter Memories

Author's Notes: I hadn't realized it before, but I never actually showed how messed up Lobo is. I could have done a lot worse, but I didn't want anyone objecting

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter.

Chapter 30 Bitter Memories.

Zev sat below deck. He was sitting in his cabin staring at the picture of him and Leta. He could feel Leta breathing. He sighed and he looked at Kuro who was sleeping on the ground. He wished he could just kick Lobo out of there and get back but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't worth the risk. He put the picture back into his wallet which was then placed in his pocket. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Even though he tried to never to think about his life before he met Leta his thoughts went there anyways.

"_Zev!" his father shouted, "How can you not get this? Even Lobo has already got it!" This last remark got a response out of Lobo who shot his father a look of anger but returned to focusing his energies. _

_Zev stood up from the spot he was sitting and looked at his brother. It had only been a few days since he had died. But already his father began treating him like his long lost son, "Even though Lobo and I are almost exactly alike,"_

Zev flinched as his thoughts crossed that conversation. Now he realized how different he and Lobo truly were.

"_His limit and mine are totally different, I have to avoid using excess energy," Zev explained to his father. They had been training to use Chidorian. Zev had sat down for a short rest, which brought his father crashing down on him. _

_Zev's father threw up his hands in disgust and began to turn, "You're pathetic!" _

_Zev held up his hand, "Chidorian!" the lightning flashed to his hand and he smashed it into the ground. The ground shook and lightning shot every where. His father turned wide eyed in horror at the anger Zev released, "Remember that next time you say I'm pathetic," Zev ordered walking away. _

"_He's a spaz isn't he?" Lobo said as Zev walked away. Zev was still within earshot._

"_Why's he so angry?" His father said. Zev resisted the urge to turn and shout in his face the reason why he was angry. He clenched his fists as he walked away. _

Zev forced himself to think of something else. His thoughts wandered to before Lobo's death.

"_Yahoo! a new technique!" Lobo shouted as he jumped up and down._

"_We haven't even learned a single technique yet," Zev reminded him._

"_Oh right…"_

_Their father laughed, "Come on you two! I haven't even begun to explain it yet," the twins ran up to their father, "Okay now, since you two are Alcidos you are going to learn a kekkei genkai right away, Relatzer no Jutsu. Now listen carefully, in order to do this, first send your chakra through out your muscles. Then focus on a spot in the ground ahead. Imagine your chakra swirling around. Then move," after he said that, there was a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of light. Zev and Lobo jumped as they looked at their father in his new location._

"_Whoa!" they both said at once. They immediately set to the task. Zev easily sent his chakra through out his body. He imagined a big circle around himself. He decided to jump to his father. Zev performed the jutsu easily. _

_His father smiled, "Good job, now try to do two in a row. Later you can try more than three jumps in a row," Zev nodded and jumped to one end of the field than back to Lobo. It took him a moment to learn how to do the jumps but he got quickly._

_Lobo threw his hands up in the air, "I just can't do it!" he shouted. _

"_Keep trying, you have to get it eventually. I mean, look at how easy it was for me."_

"_That's because your limits aren't the same," their father said, "Zev you have a high maximum but a low ability usage level, Lobo it's the opposite." _

"_What's the difference between the two levels?" Lobo asked._

"_A high maximum means you can do techniques that are very difficult even for senior clan members. You skill all revolves around this level. The ability usage level is much different. It's the level that you can perform our kekkei genkai at. If this level is surpassed… you'll go insane."_

Zev sighed, he wished he could do something but Keishin told him to stay in his cabin for a while. His thoughts began to wander again.

_Zev was breathing hard. They had completed the mission but they were being chased. Zev looked over his shoulder to wait for the others. Emiko and Yukio ran by him. Next was one of Lobo's teammates. He could see her teammates behind her. Zev began to run when she neared. Zev jumped when suddenly Lobo appeared in her place, "Where'd she go?" Zev asked._

"_She served a purpose," Lobo said with an evil glint in his eye._

_Zev turned and saw her skewered through the heart with an arrow, "What the hell!" Zev shouted, "What the fuck did you do?"_

"_I substituted her for me," he said like it was the most natural thing in the world._

"_So you killed her so you could get away?"_

"_No, I could have used a log but then they'd keep chasing. Now they'll focus on her body." _

_Zev thought about tearing him apart right there. He continued running, "If you do that with Emiko or Yukio. You'll wish that arrow that pierced her heart took your life instead." _

_Lobo simply laughed. _

Zev clenched his fist as he remembered that mission. It was a simple reconnaissance. Lobo could have simply stepped to avoid the arrow. Instead he sacrificed a team member to keep himself alive.

"_I don't know why they think we have to use two teams for this mission. Hell your team isn't even a full team anymore," Zev said quietly to Lobo and his lone teammate. Emiko and Yukio were behind Zev. _

"_They know I can do this better than you can," Lobo said with a chuckle. _

_Zev once again wanted to rip his brother to shreds. Upon arriving at the Village they had dismissed Lobo's sacrifice of a teammate and sent both Zev and him on another mission with their teammates, "We'll see about that, for now, let's finish the mission…" He turned to Emiko, Emiko take out those two guards at the front gate. I'll use Relatzer no-"_

_Lobo cut him off, "This is taking to long," he used his own Relatzer no Jutsu to go right through the guards. There were several explosions and then Lobo appeared with them, "There's too many guards, I can't get it," he said over the rumbling of thunder. _

_Zev sighed, "I'll go. Stay here," he ordered. He got in with out any jutsus. He stayed as much out of sight as possible. Zev came across several dead bodies. They were scorched black, Lobo's been through here, he thought. Lobo soon after learning any technique gave it his own abilities which made all the lightning turn to fire in the kekkei genkai techniques. Zev found a door blown off its hinges. Zev ran into the room, this is where the scroll should be, he thought recalling the map he'd memorized before he went on the mission. _

_He ran though the room and began looking. Lobo had fought and killed several soldiers who were guarding this room and its contents. Zev's search was interrupted as he heard another guard coming, he used Henge no jutsu to turn himself into a guard, "What are you doing?" the guard who walked into the room asked._

"_I think the intruder was looking for something, I'm looking through to see if he grabbed something, go look for the intruder, I'll join the search in a moment." _

_The guard nodded and left. Zev found what he was looking for, got it, he thought, now to get out of here. He used Relatzer no jutsu to get out of the compound. He was right in front of Emiko and Yukio, "I got it let's get out of here."_

_Lobo laughed, "I could have done it myself."_

_Now Emiko laughed, "You tried that remember?" _

_Lobo was silent. _

_Zev led the group out of the immediate area. They had to pass through a check point. One of the guards pointed at Lobo, he shouted something that Zev couldn't hear. But Zev could hear the crossbows being fired. Lobo made hand signs. There was the familiar sound and smoke of Kawarimi no jutsu being performed. Zev eyes went wide with shock as he saw Lobo's other teammate appear in the smoke, "Wha-" he never got to finish even that word. The arrows pierced his heart, and Lobo had disappeared. Zev clenched his fist as Emiko ran up to the fallen shinobi. _

"_Damn it, this shouldn't have happened!" Zev said, "If Lobo hadn't decided to barge in and kill anyone in his way this wouldn't have happened." _

_When they all arrived at the village Zev told the officials what happened, they ignored it saying that it was an accident and an unfortunate turn of events. _

Zev sat up, he wasn't doing anything good right now, and he was just getting himself angry. He decided to go ask Keishin if there was anything he could do to help. He stood up and was surprised to hear a knock at the door, he opened it up and Keishin was there, "We're here," she said.

Zev walked up on deck. He found Noriko on deck helping tie the boat. He was surprisingly good on a boat. Noriko jumped down onto the dock and helped the people on the dock with the boat. Before long Noriko had finished the all work almost by himself. He waived to Zev on board. Zev nodded and jumped down, "So what's up?"

"Well," Noriko started, "I guess I'll inform the officials here about the threat from my village. After that I don't know."

"Well sounds like you and me got nothing to do for a while. I would say we could just relax and take it easy but I don't think I could do that."

Noriko nodded, "I could sense you were distressed about something for the past hour or so…"

Zev thought, _have I been caught up in my memories for that long? _but he shrugged it off and said, "Yea, I'm worried about Leta, I've seen how evil Lobo can be personally. To be honest, I'm afraid."

"I know, I would be too," Noriko said, "He's willing to sacrifice anyone to get his goals met."

Zev nodded and looked out to the sea. There was a dense fog for which the village got its name from so he couldn't see anything. He sighed, _Leta…_


	31. Chapter 31 Return

Author's notes: none. I think.

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter

Chapter 31 Return

Zev was approaching the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He had been waiting for what felt like forever to get back. Kuro wasn't with him as the wolf was bored out of his mind and decided to leave Zev alone for a while. Zev wanted to see Leta again, and that desire was made even greater by the dreams Zev had of Lobo fighting Leta.

Leta screamed as Lobo punched her, "If the Hokage wants to talk to me he can come himself," he said she slid on the cold ground and stopped at Utsuha's feet.

"Not cool!" Utsuha said as he dropped down to look at Leta. She had bruises on her arms and he guessed elsewhere along her body as well. During the past month Lobo had been picking fights with her every chance he got. He didn't know what his vendetta was with her but he was getting on his nerves. Utsuha picked Leta up, "Fine, leave. The Hokage was willing to talk to you but after this I don't think he will."

Lobo, Nagäku, and Semiko walked off. Leta said, "I… I… I want to try to talk to him again," She stood up and began to follow. Utsuha sighed and decided to go with her.

Zev was nearing the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He was excited to be back. Noriko was following him. Noriko was considered a hero by his village. He had left for a day and came back smiling. He told everyone in his village about Orochimaru and his plans. Surprisingly everyone jumped at the chance to get rid of him. So the attack on the Village Hidden in the Mist was averted. In the month he had spent with Zev, Zev's trust was proved to be well placed. Zev looked around the forest. The leaves had fallen from the trees. Zev held up his hand, "Do you hear that?" he asked smiling.

Noriko listened, "I hear voices."

"It's Leta," then Zev lost his smile as he heard another voice, "and Lobo." He said running.

Leta ran up, "Wait, please, my father wants to talk to you!" Zev could see her now but he didn't say anything. Lobo turned and punched Leta in the face. There was an explosion from his hand. He then kicked her away which brought another explosion. He pointed his fingers at her and shot a bolt of fire at her. She screamed as the fire engulfed her. Lobo turned laughing. He felt a wave of chakra burst out from where Leta was. He turned and stopped laughing. Zev held Leta's head. The burst of chakra was Zev smothering the fire with his chakra.

Zev never thought about what would really happen if Leta was killed by Lobo. He never wanted too. That was understandable. But now looking at Leta he realized what would happen.

The last thing standing between him and insanity would be torn down.

"I'm… going… to… kill… you…"

Noriko shuddered. He stayed far enough away so that he wouldn't be spotted. He wanted Orochimaru to know what had happened in the other villages the hard way, but close enough to hear what was happening. He had never heard Zev sound like that. He risked taking a peek at Zev. He realized that there would be no need to hide because all eyes were on Zev.

And the curse mark spreading across his body.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Lobo wasn't one to be frightened about anything, but looking at Zev he instantly gained a new fear to put at the top of his list.

Zev used _Relatzer no jutsu _to punch Lobo and returned to hold Leta again. Lobo went flying into a tree. He coughed up blood. He looked at Zev. Zev had broken one of the most important rules about that jutsu. You weren't supposed to attack with body while using it. Normally there would be a short drop of speed while performing the jutsu. But Zev was attacking while still under the affects of the jutsu. The force shatters your own bones, but Zev's hand was unscathed. He set Leta down gently. Then he looked at Lobo again. Another _Relatzer no jutsu_ sent Lobo through the tree and into a rock. Zev began using _Relatzer no jutsu _to pummel Lobo into the rock even further. He used it a total of seven times.

Lobo took a small comfort in the fact that Zev wouldn't be able to use another. He looked up and got another punch across his face backed up by a _Relatzer no jutsu_. _What? That's impossible! No one can do Relatzer no Jutsu more than ten times! _His reasoning was once again interrupted by another punch. The thunder rolling proved that these were indeed part of a _Relatzer no jutsu. _

Zev reached back and shouted "_Chidorian!_" Lobo was too shocked to move for a second. The lightning emanating from Zev's hand was a twenty times bigger than Lobo had seen before. When Zev moved to punch Lobo, Lobo ran. The explosion shook everything around the combatants and spectators. Orochimaru could hardly contain himself. Looking at the power Lobo could contain.

Lobo's mind was only on defending himself. If he was hit again he might not be able to remain conscious, and with Zev the way he is, he wouldn't live to regain it. He tripped and fell back. He saw Zev reach for him, "Zev…" came a small voice that was the only thing that could reach Zev at the moment.

The curse marks receded as Zev neared Leta. He dropped everything to go to her, "Are you okay?" he asked.

Leta reached up and put her hand on Zev's cheek, "I'm…. much better now…."

"Let's go," Lobo said. Semiko helped him up. Normally he would yell at her for this but he needed it after the beating Zev gave him. As they got farther away he said to Orochimaru, "That was a curse mark wasn't it?" Orochimaru nodded, "Can you give me one? I think part of that power came from it. And I need to be stronger than him," he finished the thought in his mind, _to truly be free from him and to be stronger than any human ever. _

Orochimaru smiled. He wasn't even aware of the shinobi stalking them.

Zev brought Leta into the village and brought her to the hospital. He looked at his hands. He knew that he had lost his mind but here he was once again in control. He wondered what had brought him back from insanity, _was it Leta, or was it my own strength that brought me back? Maybe, I never went insane… _Zev was very confused.

He clenched his fist. He had to talk to the Hokage. He reached up to scratch his forehead. Then he realized something, his forehead protector was gone.

"Looking for this?" he heard Utsuha say behind him. Zev turned and saw that he held Zev's forehead protector, "You're actually kind of lucky. If this hadn't of fallen off when you sent out that burst of chakra Lobo would have guessed you were here. That one ninja who was with you gave it to me. He also told me to tell you he was going to watch Nagäku and Lobo for a while. Isn't Nagäku Orochimaru though? "

"Thanks," Zev said as he took his forehead protector.

"By the way, the Hokage wanted me to give this to you," Utsuha said as he held a letter. Zev opened and read it.

_To the Honorable Hokage,_

_I have recently discovered that Zev, the dishonored ninja from our village, was or is in your area of influence. I request that you take care of this dishonorable threat to all our villages. _

_The leader of the alliance,_

_Lobo Alcido._

When Zev finished reading Utsuha said, "Needless to say, the hokage isn't honoring any of Lobo's requests."

Zev nodded, "How's Leta?"

"She's fine," Utsuha paused for a moment wondering if he should tell Zev this next bit of information, "They say she's recovering extremely fast. She should be able to leave by the end of the hour," Zev sighed a sigh of relief, "Zev," Utsuha started, "a normal person shouldn't leave at least until the end of the week. I don't know what Lobo did, but it injured her internally, but she's making a complete recovery."

"It's because of what's inside her," a familiar voice said, "Although I'm still worried about what this means…"

Zev turned and saw Leta's father standing there behind them. He had a worried look in his face, "I was aware of this since I met her," Zev said to him, "I could sense it."

The Hokage looked at him, "So you knew she had it?" Zev nodded, "How?"

"She and I… aren't so different," he then realized something that he had forgotten to look at when Zev had shown him how he and Lobo where sealed, _Zev, how many tails do you have? _

"_Nine like the Kyuubi in Leta and Naruto." _

"Is that why you said before that hers and your chakra wasn't as similar as you thought?"

Zev nodded. Then Utsuha spoke up, "I may just be forgetting something but… what the hell are you two talking about?"

Naruto spoke up, "It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with."

Utsuha bowed his head, but Zev wondered if it was out of reverence or out of a feeling of defeat, "Yes, your honor."

Naruto smacked him upside the head, "Don't talk like that, it makes me feel much older than I am."

Zev laughed. Even though Naruto was the Hokage, he often acted around Zev's age. A doctor came forward, "Leta's totally fine, we want to keep her under watch, this is a very strange recovery and-"

"It's okay," the Hokage interrupted, "She'll be fine, it's just a family trait that let her recover so quickly."

"That may be but-"

This time Zev interrupted, "I'd suggest listening to him, after all, he is the Hokage."

The man stopped talking, "Right, well would you like to see her?"

"Are you an idiot? Yes," the Hokage looked at Utsuha who said, "Whoops, did I say that aloud?"

The Hokage shrugged as he followed the now deeply offended doctor. When they got to the room He smiled at Naruto and Zev as they walked but he said to Utsuha, "Careful someday you might find yourself under my care."

Leta was sitting upright in the bed. Her clothes were blackened by the fire jutsu Lobo had twisted out of_ Saceno no jutsu_. Her clothes were ripped as well, but she had bandages on underneath now. The Hokage pulled up a chair and sat next to Leta. Zev stood on the other side. After a moment of silent relief Naruto asked, "What exactly happened out there?"

Leta slowly started, "Well… after you told me to find Lobo and tell him you wanted to talk to him… I uh… went to find him…," Leta her hand and gingerly touched her cheek where Lobo had punched her the first time, "he started beating me…," She paused as she began to feel Zev's anger welling up, "I wanted to try again and this time he really hurt me, I was unconscious for a moment…. When I woke up, Zev was reaching for Lobo. I said his name and he ran over to me."

Zev held her hand, "I'm not exactly sure what I did. I think I might have gone insane for a moment. I heard Leta call my name and I dropped everything I was thinking about, and ran to her."

Naruto tensed up when Zev held hands with Leta, and he made a note to talk to Hinata about that. He wasn't entirely sure that he wanted Leta with Zev like that, at first, it was kind of cute watching them, but now… He stood up, "As soon as you can, come back to the house. Your mother is cooking your favorite tonight."

When he left the room Leta asked Zev, "Where's Kuro?"

Zev shrugged as he moved to sit down in the chair that Naruto had been sitting in, "He was so bored he decided he didn't want to hang around so he told me to summon him again when we got here, but I think I could use a few more days off from him," Leta giggled a little, "So anything interesting happen here?"

"The only interesting thing was… that… Lobo was here… but as you can tell… he left…," Leta said quietly.

"I meant about you."

Leta blushed," Well… uh… I… um can do _Saceno no jutsu_ second level now…."

"Lobo taught you how to do it right?"

She nodded, "He attacked me, though… while I was trying to learn it...

"I can't wait to kick his sorry ass."

Leta moved to stand up, "I should head home." She tired to stand up and fell over. Zev caught her.

"Maybe you should let me help you."

Leta was quick to agree.


	32. Chapter 32 Another Knot

Author's Notes: Not so much.

disclaimer: Any other chapter

Chapter 32 Another Knot 

Hinata was cooking supper for her family when Naruto walked in. He sat down at the table and sighed, "Hinata… what do you think of Zev?"

The question surprised her somewhat, not that she was surprised that he asked, but she was surprised that she never thought of it. She trusted him, like Leta trusted him, "I think he's trust worthy. I don't know why but when I'm near him I feel like I can trust him. Why?"

"I think Leta likes him," he said flatly.

Hinata laughed, "Are you just realizing that? Maybe you still are that knuckle head ninja you were back then," Naruto was silent. She sat down next to him, "What's the matter?"

"I'm not sure I can trust him, it's just weird. I can't really describe it. I still feel like he might cause some major catastrophe in the village."

Hinata put her hand into Naruto's, "Remember when you told my father that you wanted to marry me?"

"I remember. He started shouting at me. Saying no way he'd let a demon like me touch you. Neji might have saved my life that day."

"What's so different about you and him?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side. He never thought about that.

Hinata laughed, "Remember the time we came back after that long mission? It was right after you and I had started dating."

"What about it?"

"Nothing, I just remembered it now thinking of when Neji ran in and got my father to calm down."

Naruto laughed as well, he knew what Hinata was laughing about.

_After they had returned from the mission they went out to eat. Naruto wanted to stop at the Ichiraku ramen shop but Hinata wanted to eat somewhere more formal. Naruto was about to object but decided not to and he let her take him to some restaurant. She led him in and asked for a table. Naruto looked around. He found several people where watching him. When he looked at them though they went back to their food, apparently they were surprised that he would be here. When he saw that one person was avoiding his eyes, "Who is that with Neji?" Naruto asked Hinata._

_The room was dark and it difficult to see the girl Neji was having dinner with, "I…I think that's Tenten."_

_Naruto noticed how uneasy Neji looked. He kept glancing up at Naruto even though he was trying to keep himself from doing just that. Tenten reached over and said something. Neji relaxed a little but was still very uncomfortable. _

_Naruto sat across from Hinata after they were shown their seats. He noticed that it was in a dark corner. He wasn't sure if that was about the demon inside him or what but he noticed that Neji was also in another dark corner of the room. _

_The dinner lost some of its charm with Neji constantly looking over at Naruto. When it came time to leave Naruto kissed Hinata. Naruto heard Neji choke on something as he kissed Hinata but he ignored it, "I suppose we should go back to your home, huh?" _

_When they left Tenten came running out, "Hey you two. Listen, can I get you to do me and Neji a favor?" _

"_Maybe," Naruto answered, "It depends."_

"_I want you two to keep quiet about seeing me and Neji, we aren't supposed to be together." _

"_Wh-why?" Hinata asked._

"_Neji isn't allowed to date anyone now. Your father, Hinata, arranged a marriage." _

"_What?" Naruto asked, wondering if her father did the same for Hinata. _

_Neji walked out of the restaurant now, "Tenten told you two, right?"_

_Hinata nodded but Naruto spoke, "So what are you going to do to keep us quiet?" _

_Neji lost his stoic look, "Please, I'm begging you."_

_Naruto laughed, "You don't really look like your begging, a dog begs," Naruto realized how serious Neji was when Neji got on his knees, "I was just joking, yea we'll be quiet."_

_Tenten smiled, "Thanks!"_

Naruto laughed again, "I still can't believe he got on his knees."

Hinata laughed a little and leaned into Naruto, "Yes, I suppose it's a good thing that you talked to my father and got him to decide to cancel the marriage."

"Well so am I, I thought for sure your father was going to kill me when Neji stepped in. I think he was returning the favor."

"Didn't you ever ask?"

"No I was pushing it as it was."

Hinata laughed and kissed her husband, "I should check on the food quick."

Naruto felt his cheek, "When was the last time I took you out?"

Hinata said without turning, "It was when Zev had to leave. It was cut short remember?"

He stood up and held her, "Tomorrow I'll take you out."

Hinata smiled and kissed her husband again, "I'm looking forward to it."

The door opened and Leta walked in. Zev held Leta up as she tried to walk on her own. Hinata guessed she could but was holding herself back to keep Zev close. She sat down and Zev started to walk out the door. Naruto spoke up, "Zev, can you and I talk?"

"Yes sir, what is it?"

"Let's talk in private meet me at my office, I'll be there soon but I have to do one thing before heading there."

Zev nodded and left. Naruto kissed his wife good bye and went out the door.

Zev was at the Hokage's office before Naruto was there. Zev sat down and began to think. He felt something was weird but couldn't place his finger on it. Then it hit him, "I'm not tired!" he shouted.

Zev was really confused. The amount of energy he had expended in the fight with Lobo should have made him pass out, actually it should have killed him. Yet here he was, totally awake.

Naruto walked in the door and Zev stood up, "Sit down, I hate it when people are like that," Zev sat down and Naruto sat in his own chair, "it's funny, when I was a little younger than you I wanted to become Hokage to have everyone respect me, but everyone acts so formal around me it gets old fast."

"You wanted to talk me about something."

"Oh, yes, I wanted to ask you something…" he leaned forward, "You said you and Leta aren't so different… what did you mean?"

"You, Leta, and me have one thing in common that very few people out there have…."

"What is that?"

"We all are Jinchuriki."

"You mean you have a demon sealed inside you too?"

Zev nodded, "There are actually two demons. I am named after one my brother after the other. They are the source of my kekkei genkai."

Naruto sighed, "Why didn't you reveal this before."

"First, I when I first came to the village I didn't know. The second time when I came I had a slight idea. Second, no one asked. Third, it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter! Can you control the demons?"

_Zev, I could use some help here!_

"_Ask him if he can control his._

"Can you?"

"Yes, but it took me years before I could."

"_Okay, listen to me very carefully repeat every word. I don't think you really control the demon. The demon inside you is dead. You simply contain the chakra and are capable of controlling it. That's what separates you from me and Leta. Leta has a conscious demon in her as do I, while you only have a remnant of Kyuubi."_

Zev repeated everything the wolf told him to say. Naruto sighed, "Here's what I think. I think I should tell my wife that I won't be able to come home to eat, and you and I will go talk about you and your clan." Zev nodded and Naruto sent a runner to go and inform his family.

Naruto and Zev went to a nearby ramen shop and talked. Naruto listened intently while Zev told him about his clan. Naruto stopped and questioned him about the reason why in Zev's clan they married at a younger age. Zev explained to him about in his clan they were often called to missions that they probably wouldn't survive. Naruto made a few more questions and let Zev continue.

They stopped talking long enough to eat. After they had finished Naruto probed further. Zev continued talking about what he had learned himself about the clan. When Zev had finished talking about the bond that he and Leta somehow shared, the sun had set. Naruto yawned and said, "It's getting late. I learned a lot about you and your clan. To be honest, I really had no interest in your clan, but I wanted to know if I could trust Leta with you," he smiled and said, "I think you are almost exactly like me when I was your age."

"What do you mean?"

"That's a story that can wait until another time. For now we both should get some rest." They walked down the street for a ways when the wind suddenly picked up, "I wish I had brought a sweater," Naruto mumbled.

Zev shrugged, "The cold doesn't bother me."

"Well you were form the Rain right? Wasn't always cold there?"

Zev nodded, then he said, "Noriko has been gone too long… are Yukio and Emiko still in the village?"

"Yes, neither of them wanted to go back to their village."

"It'll be fine, Lobo will presume them captured and executed. I need to talk to them tomorrow. In the meantime, I should rest. Good night, lord Hokage," he said bowing.

Naruto smiled as he watched Zev run off, _well, _he thought, _he certainly is an interesting guy. Leta especially seems to think that, _he laughed and walked back home. When he got near his house, he smacked himself upside the head, "Almost forgot! I told Hinata I would take her out tomorrow!"


	33. Chapter 33 Getting back to the Norm

Author's Notes: Not much I can say. I got my little idea for getting past the sharingan from R-Kenshin. I suppose in theory it would work, since shargingan veiws the chakra, so viewing two thigns at the same second would mess it up, at least, I believe so.

Disclaimer; look at any other chapter.

Chapter 33 Getting Back to the Norm. 

Zev sat down on his bed and discharged his energy. He laid down on the bed and thought, _I haven't had a chance to go to sleep since before I left here, _as he drifted off.

Zev soon realized he was in between the cages again. He looked around. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He stood up and walked over to the cage with Zev in it. Soon the demon appeared, "Finally you're here," the demon started coughing, "I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance…."

_Is he sick? Can demons even get sick? _Zev wondered.

"You broke a barrier when you saw Leta attacked by Lobo. You drew on both mine and Lobo's strengths. I am dying now," he held up a paw to silence Zev, "Don't worry, if I didn't want this to happen I wouldn't have let you take so much of our chakra," the wolf coughed a few more times then said, "Do you know of the eight inner gates?" Zev nodded, "I prefer to think of it as flood gates. When they open all the chakra comes pouring out. If you only open one, your power is still somewhat," the wolf coughed again, "limited. When you fought Lobo you opened up almost all of them. You weren't thinking when you did it though, the curse seal made you do it. The reason I'm telling you this is because you won't be able to get any help from me from now on. I need to use what's left of me to keep Lobo from giving away your thoughts."

"What about the sacrificial jutsu?"

"That will be the only thing left I can give you…. Fortunately for you, there's another who'll take my place. Good-bye, Zev," then the wolf vanished from sight.

Zev stood there for a moment, "Wait… I don't know how to wake up!" there was no response, "Shit…"

Zev heard something behind him, he turned and saw a white wolf with red streaks behind him, "You want to wake up right now?"

"Wait, who are you?"

"I don't have a name," Zev was about to say something but the wolf interrupted, "Awaken!"

Zev sat up in his bed. He looked out the window. The Sun was shining, "well, I guess I should see where Yukio is…," he walked out the door, to find Yukio but he couldn't get the wolf's words out of his head.

He asked around for Yukio and heard he was spending the day training. It took Zev a long time to find him. When he did Yukio came running to him, "Zev! You're back! What have you been doing?"

"Literally nothing, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"I need to find a shinobi, his name is Noriko. He's not from any listed villages. I want you to send a message to Saken in Suna. Ask him to look for this ninja, he might need his brother's help but I want to check on this particular ninja. Noriko's clothes are a sea green, he wears gloves that are the same color and he's got black hair. But the forehead protector is thing that Sahlhi would be able to distinguish him from anyone else. It's a circle of waves with a slash through it."

Yukio nodded, "You want me to use the ninja art, _choujuu giga _correct?" Zev nodded, "okay." Zev watched as Yukio began writing out a message to Saken. When he finished, he said, "_Ninpou-choujuu giga_," and made a seal. The ink lifted up of the paper and pooled into the shape of a bird and it flew off, "It will take about a day to get to Saken. I decided to send it directly to him, so if he's not in Suna it will still find him."

Zev nodded, "Thanks, now I have to get to training."

"Good luck. You'll need it. Utsuha hasn't been sitting around waiting for you to get back. He's been training, hard."

Zev shrugged, "I doubt he can touch me," Zev confidence was slightly shaken when Yukio laughed, but he shrugged it off, "I haven't been sitting around either."

Zev ran off. He arrived at the training spot on time. He couldn't help but smile at the fact Leta, Utsuha, and Osona were all ready at the spot. Zev walked up behind Osona, "So," he stopped as she jumped, "What are we doing today?"

Osona put her hand over her heart, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Well how am I supposed to scare you?"

Osona shook her head, "We're doing speed training. Utsuha put on the vest."

Utsuha nodded and put the vest on. Zev smiled. Zev put the red powder on his hands, "Just say when."

"When?" Osona asked wondering what he meant, "Oh, right," she said as Zev rushed Utsuha.

Zev was about to touch Utsuha when he jumped back. Zev kept going and began to fall forward. Utsuha was about to laugh when he remembered who it was he was fighting. Zev rolled and kicked Utsuha's legs out from under him. Zev positioned himself so he was above Utsuha. He reached down and Utsuha barely managed to get away. Instead of running Utsuha turned and assumed a fighting stance toward Zev. He wasn't aware Leta had gotten him from behind when he turned. Osona sighed. She often had to tell Utsuha this wasn't a fighting exercise. Zev smiled, "So, you figure that it would be better to turn and fight rather than keep running," He assumed a low fighting stance with one hand held up at shoulder level. His other hand he used to keep himself off the ground and his legs were behind him. He was almost parallel to the ground, "I'm fine with that. I've been working on creating this type of taijutsu for a while.

Utsuha said, "You created it? Well I can copy it," while activating his sharingan.

"That reminds me," Zev said smiling. Utsuha screamed and covered his eyes, "I got another trick up my sleeve."

Leta looked at Osona, who was returning the look of confusion on each other's faces. They looked at Utsuha. Then at Zev, wondering why he hadn't made a move yet. Then back at Utsuha, who took his hands away from his eyes. They were no longer sharingan.

"Remind me to thank Noriko for the idea later," Zev said rushing Utsuha.

Leta blinked twice and Utsuha was on the ground. Zev looked at Utsuha's back where Leta's hand print was. He placed a single hand print right next to Leta's and stepped back, "I didn't think it would be that easy to take you down," Zev admitted.

Utsuha rolled over, "What the…? What kind of taijutsu is that?"

Zev laughed, "It's one I made myself. I had some help from Noriko."

"Who's Noriko?" Osona asked with out looking up from her book.

"He's a shinobi from another village. He left it because it was founded by Nagäku or better known as-"

"Orochimaru," Utsuha finished.

Zev nodded, "Yeah, he managed to get the village to over throw Orochimaru, which wasn't hard because he was here with Lobo, but then they went into anarchy and he couldn't get anyone to listen to reason."

"So he abandoned them?" Osona asked.

Zev shook his head, "No, those who liked the anarchy tried to kick him out but instead he stood up in front of the entire village, made a long speech then slashed his forehead protector in a demonstration. Then he left with that."

"So he did exactly what they wanted him to not do?" Osona asked while turning the page.

Zev shrugged a little, "Pretty much. He's really good at public speeches."

"Did he give that thing you used to blind me?"

Zev shrugged again, "Yes and no, he guessed that two very quick bursts of chakra in less than a setsuna, one seventy-fifth a second, would throw the chakra in the eyes of sharingan user of balance, in effect, momentarily blinding the sharingan. He never tried it himself, but then again, he has never fought an Uchiha," Zev finished shrugging.

Osona shut her book, "Which reminds me, I'm supposed to take one of you three out."

Utsuha stood up and took off the vest, "Okay, now I know you're trying to annoy me!" he said as he looked at the back of the vest.

Osona looked at the vest and groaned, "Again, I'm stuck paying for an extra. Let's go." Despite her groaning about it, Zev couldn't help but notice the small smile she let slip.

Naruto was sitting in one of the darker corners of the restaurant when Osona, Leta, and Zev walked in. He couldn't help but give a small chuckle. He pointed them out to his wife. She laughed a little, "It's a little like Déjà vu isn't it?"

Naruto nodded, "Only this time they have an extra, and we're in Neji and Tenten's place."

Hinata returned to eating her food, "Quit staring, it's rude."

Naruto looked at his wife and smiled. He noticed she had byakugan activated, "I guess mother knows best," Naruto said with a chuckle.

Zev, Osona, and Leta sat down at a booth. Hinata continued to watch them. When they sat down Zev started to write something. She began to try to see what it was but she soon found out she didn't need to try. Zev held it up in her direction without letting Osona and Leta knowing. It read, "Ever get the feeling your being watched?" Hinata nearly choked on her food.

Naruto asked, "Are you all right?"

She nodded, "Yes, but Zev is a whole lot more observant than I thought."

Naruto decided to continue eating and let Zev and Leta have their time, "At least Osona's with them."

Osona was the one to open up conversation, "So, Zev, what have you been doing this past month?"

Zev shrugged, "Almost nothing, I've been training every day. I wasn't allowed to do missions for the Village so Noriko and I trained every day. We mostly just joked around though. When you're bored you do the stupidest things sometimes. That taijutsu was originally just a joke. But Noriko had to get serious to actually defend himself, somewhat anyway. This kind of saved us from boredom during the month."

"It looked difficult to defend against."

Zev nodded, "Yes, it's even harder compared to when we first started experimenting with it. Noriko has a different style compared to mine. He calls his, _Katana gyo _Style, mine is _Ookami no kiba _Style. He uses a sword with his and that's the difference between ours."

"Whose is stronger?"

Zev shrugged, "We don't know. Sometimes I beat him, other times he beats me. It's almost a perfect match."

"Almost?" Leta asked, finally speaking up.

"I can use a sword if need be, and with our unique skills the power can be much greater than Noriko's. But Noriko is skilled as well, so it's almost even."

Osona asked Zev, "You said, our unique skills, do you mean anyone, to each his own?"

Zev shook his head, "No, I meant me and Leta, although I guess anyone can learn it, and the power will shift for each person."

"M-me? Why me?"

"Well, you've shown an ability to use my kekkei genkai. Also I wanted to teach it to you as a way to defend yourself. I might not be there to help you, I guess I was given a rude awakening to that in the past month, so I want you to be able to defend yourself. I have no doubt you can defend yourself against someone at your level,"

Leta shifted, _I wish I believed that._

"But there maybe a time when you have to fight someone who's stronger than you. This is something to help tip the odds in your favor."

Leta shifted again, _can I really make myself stronger?_

Zev smiled, "Of course you can, you just need to train and keep focused.

"Did… did… did I say that aloud?"

"I didn't hear her say anything."

Zev looked at Osona, "Are you sure? I could have sworn I heard her ask if she really could make herself stronger…"

"_Get used to it," _a voice told Zev. It was much like his own, but it held a strong amount of power in it. Zev looked toward Leta who had put a hand over her ear and was looking at Zev.

"Did… you?"

_I think so._

Leta smiled.

Osona paid the bill and led them out side. She was confused to what had happened in there. But Zev said everything was okay and she trusted him. When they walked out it was snowing.

Zev looked at the snow, it fell on his skin and melted, "What the…?"

"It's snow. Haven't you seen it before?"

Zev shook his head, "It only rains from where I come from. Occasionally it gets cold enough so that when the rain falls it freezes on the ground, but nothing like this. It's kind of nice."

Leta shivered. She put folded her arms and tried to keep her self warm, "If the cold doesn't bother you," Osona said doing the same as Leta.

Zev waved his hand, "That's not a problem for me."

The Hokage and his wife walked out of the restaurant. Naruto walked directly to Zev, while Hinata talked with Osona and her daughter, "Uh… sorry about watching you like that it's just that-"

"It's okay. I'd be more worried if you weren't keeping an eye on her. In fact I…" he trailed off as he felt a wave of dread sweep over.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah, it's killer intent."

"You've been trained to notice it?"

"Well, yes and no, but I know it from the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"Where's it coming from?"

"I don't know," Zev admitted as he reached for his sword, "It looks like none of the women noticed."

Naruto nodded, "Hinata probably noticed, she's just good at keeping her movements hidden, unlike you reaching for sword."

"I was never good at making small movements."

"Neither was I," as he made hand signs for _Kage Bushin no jutsu._

Then suddenly the intent was gone, "Did you scare them off?" Zev wondered aloud. He used _Mokunoarashi no jutsu _to check out the immediate area. He closed his eyes and began to focus on the source of the intent, "Damn!"

"What?"

"It's Lobo."

"He's here?"

Zev shook his head, "No he's a long ways off. Which is what bothers me," Zev saw Lobo standing in a field near Orochimaru. Semiko was on the far end of the field. Zev noticed Lobo's skin was a grey color. Zev curiosity was sparked when he grew three pairs of wings. They weren't like Sashii's at all. Instead they were more like a bat's wings and they were a crimson red. Zev looked at Naruto, "This isn't good, but we can't do anything, let's keep this quiet for now."

Naruto nodded, "Let's only tell the joinin. Anyone with a lower rank would probably be killed."

"There's something strange about Lobo, his skin is grey and he now has three pairs of wings…"

"He might have had a curse mark placed on him… I don't know why that would release such a vast amount of killer intent but that would explain why he looks different. I'll tell Saskue about this he might know more."

Osona turned and looked at Naruto and Zev, "Hey, what are you two doing standing over there."

Zev looked at Naruto, "So we don't tell them now right?" he asked to clarify as he released the jutsu.

"I just want to know if they felt it," He walked up to the women and asked, "did any of you feel anything just now?"

Osona shook her head, and to Naruto's surprise Hinata did too. Only Leta nodded, "Yes… I did feel something… it made me… afraid…."

Zev shot a look at Naruto, "That's weird."

Naruto nodded, "If Leta felt it…."

"Everyone should have felt it, no offense."

Leta nodded a little, not really understanding what they were talking about she asked, "What… what are you talking about?"

"You felt it, I felt it and your father felt it, but no one else did," Zev stopped and began to think. He stared at Leta as he thought. Leta brought her hand up and brushed her hair with her hand. Her hand touched the whisker like marks on her face, "We're Jinchuriki!"

Hinata's eyes widened and looked at Naruto, who was just as taken aback. Leta was greatly confused, "What's a… Jinchuriki?"

Naruto answered her question, "A Jinchuriki is someone who has had a demon sealed in them from birth."

Leta's eyes grew wide at the though of having a demon in her. But Zev interrupted her thoughts, "But if we felt that, the killer intent must have been released by Lobo. And I don't mean the human…"

Hinata had to ask, "What do you mean the human?"

Zev turned and face her, "Me and Lobo were named after two demons sealed in our clan, Zev is one, who is supposedly good, and Lobo is the other. The demon Zev died, he no longer exists, I think. There is another one that I think is a link between me and Leta," he continued in his thoughts, _I think that's why you and I can hear each other's thoughts, _then he continued speaking to all, "I think that one of two things happened. One, Lobo took over my brother's body. Which I doubt happened. Two, Lobo managed to use the demon's chakra, which released the killer intent."

"Does this pose an immediate effect to our village?"

Zev thought for a moment, "I don't know exactly. I think Lobo's influence grows weak if he's not there, so he won't be foolish enough to attack this village and start a war. But that might be what the alliance really is, an excuse to remove one of the greater powers in the shinobi world. I would raise the ninja on alert, like we had received word that we might be attacked, for a while."

"I was thinking the same. Kakashi!"

The white haired joinin appeared, "Yes, Lord Hokage?"

"Raise the ninja on alert; we might be attacked by the alliance."

"I understand, sir," then he disappeared.

"I wish it was that easy to get him to arrive on time when I was a genin," Naruto said.

Leta shivered, "Can we get some place warm?" she asked barely audible.

Only Zev heard her. He walked over and took her hand into his. He sent his chakra into Leta and she could feel a tingle all along her body, "That's better?" Zev asked as Leta began to warm up.

She nodded and blushed a little, "No fair," Osona muttered a little jealous of Leta.

"We should get inside someplace soon. No point in catching a cold, right?" Zev said to the others for Leta.

Hinata nodded, "Hot chocolate, and a fire sounds nice," she said.

"And a bowl of ramen!" Naruto chimed in.

"We just ate," Hinata reminded him.

"You should know me by now! I always have room for another bowl of ramen!"

Hinata just sighed put her head on Naruto's shoulder, "some things really don't change do they?"

Naruto smiled, "No they don't."

"Still hot chocolate and a fire really do sound nice right now." Osona said.

Zev looked at Leta, "I should get home. I want to make sure it's not an ice box when I get there."

Leta nodded. She let go of Zev's hand and felt some of the warmth he brought leave her. The only place that was still warm was her face. Zev took a step back and a short burst of wind picked up snow that surrounded him. When the snow fell back down on the ground he was gone. Naruto said, "He does know how to make an exit. I should try that sometime."

"Leta, Let's go home," Hinata said taking Leta's hand.

When everyone was gone Osona shook her head and laughed, "Well, might as well get home."

Osona walked into her house and sighed, "It feels colder in here…" she said to her self. She walked into another room with a fireplace. She threw a couple logs in the fireplace. She tried several times to get the wood to light on fire and her third attempt was rewarded by a small flame, which soon after went out. She sighed and tried again. This time, the flame stayed. She sat down next to the fire and began to read her book.


	34. Chapter 34 Snow Day

Author's notes: I love snow days, don't you? I wanted to put Naruto on a snowboard, but I didn't actually get to do anythign with him without it being completely random. Oh well, I still got to put the bowl of ramen on it.

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter.

Chapter 34 Snow Day

Zev walked down the streets. He was getting slightly annoyed by all the looks of the other people while walking down the street. Unlike everyone else, he still wore his shirt and vest. He didn't wear a jacket. When he got to the training grounds, he found Leta wearing a white coat, with a white hat. Her pants were a light blue. Utsuha wore a red coat with the Uchiha fan on the back. His pants were black. Utsuha waived at Zev. Zev waived back as he neared.

Leta walked up tapping her fingers together, "Aren't you… cold?"

Zev shook his head, Leta put a hand on Zev's arm. Instead of him feeling cold, Leta felt warmth emanate from Zev that filled her body, "See?" Zev asked.

Leta nodded and leaned into him. Utsuha shifted suddenly feeling out of place. He put a hand behind his head and said, "Um… I heard from Sashii. Sahlhi is dating Ai. Right now they're both looking for Noriko…"

If Zev or Leta heard him, they gave no sign of it.

Utsuha looked around for Osona. He saw her coming from a ways off and was relieved to see her. Osona wore a blue jacket with black pants, "Sorry I'm late. I had to pry myself away from my nice warm house."

Utsuha waved it off, "It's okay. Those two are certainly all right with it."

Osona shrugged, "Today we're going to do some training that we can't do the rest of the year."

"What's that?"

"Snowboarding."

Leta turned and looked at Osona, still holding Zev's hand, "How's that supposed to help us?"

"Balance and coordination," Osona explained, "You'll be surprised how much it will help you."

Zev had to ask, "What's snowboarding?"

"You ride a board down a hill covered with snow. I'll show you," Utsuha told him.

At the ski slopes, Zev proved to be a quick learner, "Show off…" Utsuha mumbled as Zev landed a four-eighty.

"This is actually really easy once you get the hang of it," Zev said smiling.

_Maybe for you, _Utsuha thought.

Zev looked around. Ignoring the stares from others, he noticed Leta was missing, "Where's Leta?" he looked in another direction, "And Osona?"

"I think they're in the ski lodge. We both know why Osona's in there."

"Reading her book right?" Utsuha nodded, "She has to have finished that book, right? It's been like a year but she's always reading it."

"I don't know, maybe she's rereading it?"

"For what the twentieth time?" Utsuha shrugged off his own question, "Why don't we go for another run, then maybe we can go see how they're doing?"

Zev nodded, "Sure why not?"

Utsuha looked at the ski lift. There was a long line, "I think since we're ninja we should get like, special privileges or something. I hate standing in line for the lift."

Utsuha got an idea and looked at Zev. Zev was smiling, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked him.

"I think so…." Zev removed the strap his foot. He pushed off and disappeared in a flash of light and thunder, "Damn it, I hate it when he does that!" Utsuha shouted as he picked himself off the ground. He summoned Sharu. Sharu flew up then he came flying down. He picked Utsuha off the ground and carried him to the top of the slope. Zev was waiting.

"Took your sweet time did you?"

"Shut it, by the way you shouldn't use that jutsu. You could cause an avalanche."

"Avalanche?"

"For being one of the best ninja around you're still an idiot sometimes. It's when the snow starts falling down the side of the mountain. It causes more snow to fall until it's like a tsunami."

Zev shrugged. He strapped his foot back on the board and began going back down the hill. Utsuha followed. Zev was enjoying himself He got an idea. He stopped. Utsuha stopped right next to him, "What's up?"

"Go on down," Zev told him, "I'm going to use _Relatzer no jutsu _to hit that jump at the end of the run."

"You're insane, have I told you that?" Zev shook his head, "Give me five extra minutes I'm going to see if I can borrow a camera."

Zev laughed as he watched Utsuha go down the hill. He went straight down the hill without slowing down. He hit the jump and landed a three-sixty. He hopped off his board and ran into the ski lodge. Osona looked up from her book when Utsuha came running in, "Osona-sensei! Do you have a camera I can borrow?"

Osona reached into her bag, "I do, why do you need it?" she asked handing him the camera.

"Thanks, this can take multiple shots per second right?"

"Yes, flip that switch on the side and hold down the button to take pictures, but back to my question, why do you need it?"

"Thanks again!" he shouted running out the door.

Osona looked at Leta, "I think we better go see what he's doing."

Leta followed Osona out the door. She saw Utsuha standing near the end of one of the runs. She pointed him out to Osona and they walked closer. As they neared they heard him chanting, "Don't jump, don't jump, don't jump."

Osona knew why he was chanting that when she heard the thunder boom. Surprisingly Utsuha did manage to avoid jumping at the thunder. Zev was visible for a second before he hit the jump. He flew up into the air and Leta gasped. Osona was slightly afraid too. At the height Zev was at he could easily die if he hit the ground wrong. Zev performed an impressive series of flips and turns in the air and through out the whole thing you could hear the rapid clicking of the camera. Osona began to panic as Zev neared the ground.

Zev was only a few feet off the ground. He shouted and twisted his body adding one more three-sixty to the total number of flips and turns. As he did so he released a large amount of chakra that pushed him back off the ground for a foot and let him fall safely.

Utsuha shouted, "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen!"

Osona punched Zev, "You're such an idiot! You realize you could have died there?" she asked as she started shaking him.

Leta tried to get her sensei to take it easy on Zev, but wasn't having much luck. Then she heard someone say, "I did some crazy things when I was a kid, but I at least had the sense to not take pictures!"

Osona turned away from Zev but didn't stop shaking Zev, "Oh, Lord Hokage!"

"Um… Osona… I think you hurting the daredevil there…."

"Oh!" She said as she let go of Zev, "You're right, sorry Zev!"

Zev rubbed his neck and coughed, "its okay. Sir, what are you doing here?"

"Snowboarding, why else?" he said as he held up his snowboard. The board had a bowl of Ramen painted on it.

_Fitting… _Zev thought.

Utsuha asked, "But isn't there stuff you're supposed to do, since you are the Hokage?"

"Missions don't come in as often when it's winter," Hinata said from behind Naruto. She had a pair of skis instead of a snowboard.

Naruto nodded, "Besides all work and no play isn't healthy."

Utsuha shrugged, "Hey, Zev, want to go for another run?"

Osona snatched the camera out of his hands, "No! You're not going to go on another run! You freaked me and Leta out enough as it is!" she looked at the camera, "You wasted all my film! You're going to have to buy some more!"

"Can we get them developed now?"

"No!"

"Aw… Osona-sensei…"

"Fine, here, be quick about it!"

Zev began inching off from the very angry woman, "I guess I'll be off then…"

Osona grabbed him, "No you're not! You're staying with me!"

Zev gave a pleading look at the Hokage. He sighed, "Don't you think you're being a little hard on him? Maybe you should let him make a few more runs…."

"Lord Hokage, he's my student! I think I know what I should do with him!"

"Sorry Zev, looks like you're on your own."

"I'd like that promotion to joinin now!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh as Osona dragged Zev into the ski lodge, "I can't help you, sorry!"

Zev spent the next twenty minutes getting a lecture from Osona. Osona never really calmed down, but she wanted to get back to reading her book and left him alone. There was a corner of the lodge where there were several couches and chairs near a fire place in the wall. That's where Osona went to read her book.

Zev and Leta sat on one of the couches. Leta began rubbing her hands together, trying to warm them up. Zev took her hands into his. Leta began to blush as Zev warmed her hands. She put her head on his shoulder and sighed. She heard one of Zev's thoughts, _how long is this going to last? _He thought.

Leta suddenly grew a little depressed, _not nearly long enough… _she thought.

Zev caught Leta's thought and looked at the fire, _this could be our only chance to sit, and be still for a while. I hope that the next few months would be like this, but we're ninja. If that's not to be then we have to deal with it. _

Leta heard Zev's thoughts. Even though she hated it, she knew he was right; _will we ever get a chance for just us? Do you think we'll ever get to be together? Just you and me? _

_Honestly? _Zev thought, _I don't know, I hope so, but… _his thoughts trailed off.

Leta moved as close to Zev as decently possible, _you know, you could have lied… _Zev laughed, _what is it? _

_You're a lot different when we talk like this. When we talk with words, you stutter, mumble, you're not exactly a shinning example of a good public speaker. When we communicate through thought, you never stutter, your thoughts are loud and clear, and you're a whole lot more confident, _Zev had felt Leta grow slightly depressed when he talked about her, _but you know what? _She looked up at him, _I think it's cute when you're stuttering, and mumbling. _

Leta grew a deep shade of red. She buried her head in Zev's shoulder to hide her embarrassment.

Osona was watching Zev and Leta over her book. Neither of them appeared to be doing anything that was inappropriate. That for some reason comforted her. She reasoned that it had something to do with Leta being the Hokage's daughter. She watched as Leta's face grew red and she buried her head in Zev's shoulder.

She glanced up again at two more people who walked in the ski lodge, Sakura and Saskue. Sakura sat down next to Osona and smiled, "Hey there, why aren't you out there?" she asked motioning at the slopes outside.

Osona ignored her question and asked, "Sakura, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Have you ever talked to Saskue through your thoughts? You've been married for a while, and I was wondering."

Sakura laughed, "I wish it was that easy. Why?"

"I think Zev and Leta can."

"Eh?" Sakura looked at the two and back at Osona, "What makes you think that? And more importantly," she leaned in close to Osona and looked at Saskue who was getting two snowboards, "how can we do that?"

Osona shrugged, "I'm not even a hundred percent sure that they are, but it looks like they can. Maybe they have a deeper bond than you have with Saskue… or anyone else for that matter…"

Sakura looked back at Leta. She couldn't help but smile, "She's so much like her mother."

"Really? Her mother isn't shy at all."

"I don't think you were born yet. You were born a few years before Naruto became hokage right?" Osona nodded, "Her mother was a very shy girl. She looked up to Naruto because he always believed in himself. Also she had a huge crush on him," she laughed, "Naruto needed a good smack upside the head to realize that Hinata had a crush on him."

Osona gathered from Sakura balling her fist that she was the one who gave him that smack. She prompted Sakura to continue.

"When Naruto and Hinata were married, she became a whole different person," Sakura put a finger to her chin and looked up, "I think Neji had something to do with that. I remember Naruto kept thanking Neji at the reception for saving his life…" she looked back at Osona, "Anyways, it was almost like she took Naruto's confidence into herself. She literally became a lot stronger over night."

Saskue walked up to Sakura holding her snowboard. They began walking out the door together when Utsuha opened the door. Right into Saskue's face, "Sorry Dad!" Utsuha said as he tried to run to Zev.

Sakura grabbed him, making Utsuha drop the pictures, "Where are you off to in such a hurry as to slam a door in your father's face?"

"Its okay, Sakura," Saskue said rubbing his forehead, "I'm okay," he bent down and picked up the pictures, "Is this Zev? He's pretty good on a snowboard."

"Hard to believe that he didn't know what a snowboard was until today, huh?" Utsuha said as he took the pictures.

"Really? Wow, it took, Saskue a full year before he got to the point he is today…"

"No one needs to know that, Sakura."

"First he beat you in a match, now he beats you in snowboarding; I think you're getting a little jealous."

Saskue shrugged, "Sometimes… you're still annoying," and he smiled.

Sakura grabbed his arm, leaving Utsuha alone, and led Saskue outside, "Man, I thought I was going to be in serious trouble…" he ran over to where Zev, Leta, and Osona were sitting. He handed the stack of pictures to Zev.

"Wow, Osona's camera can take a lot of pictures…"

"Actually those pictures include the doubles," Zev nodded as he found two of the same picture, of him doing an Indy hand grab. Leta took one of the pictures out of Zev's hand.

She looked at Utsuha, "Can…can… I have this… one?" she asked quietly.

Utsuha nodded, "Sure, its okay. It doesn't really matter…" he held up some rather personal pictures of Osona, "I have these ones…."

Leta covered her mouth with her hand. Zev said, "I think you're forgetting who is behind you."

Utsuha turned, forgetting to put the pictures back in his pocket, "Huh?"

Osona looked up and saw the pictures, "Give me those!" she shouted as she smacked him upside the head and stole the pictures out of his hands.

"It's all good, I have the negatives," and he ran for his life as Osona tried to grab him. Zev didn't want to know what would happen if Utsuha was caught.


	35. Chapter 35 Back on the Clock

Author's note: Whew, almost finished, by the end of the night, all chapters should have been posted.

Disclaimer: look at any other chapter

Chapter 35 Back on the Clock

_We're ninja. If that's not to be then we have to deal with it, _Zev thought as he, Osona, Leta, and a badly beaten Utsuha walked into the Hokage's office the next day. Utsuha, even though he managed to keep away for a long time, was caught the other day. Osona never did get the negatives out of him though.

The walked in to the room and Naruto was sitting down behind his desk. He was looking at a piece of paper and had his head resting on his fist. He looked half asleep. He looked up when Utsuha closed the door. He sat up straight and shook his head, as if to shake off his lack of sleep.

"Tired?" Osona asked.

He shook his head, "Not really, I just have a headache."

Osona waited there for a while, eventually she started, "You… called us in?"

"Oh right! Here's the mission, a wealthy land lord got word his daughter might be kidnapped. This is actually his second daughter. His first was kidnapped and murdered. I'll spare you the bloody details."

Zev nodded, "I believe I know who you're talking about, Agatone correct?"

Naruto nodded, "The land he owns is farther south and more east than the dessert region. He's almost a daimyo. He's not quite that strong though. Some other daimyo aren't happy with having him almost as strong as them. As I said before, there have been threats to kidnap his daughter, now his only daughter. His wife died before of natural causes."

Utsuha said for all, "Yea right," he said very sarcastically.

Naruto nodded, "That was my first reaction as well," he paused for a moment and then continued, "This next mission may take all of the winter season. I don't think it will but that's a possibility. Reality is that it will probably take a month or until an attempt to kidnap his daughter," Naruto Paused and sighed, "Zev, this mission will probably rest entirely on your shoulders. I'm not so sure Leta and Utsuha will be able to kill."

Zev nodded solemnly. Leta looked at Zev then back at her father. Utsuha spoke up, "Wait! What ranking is this mission! I mean, you want us to kill?"

Zev looked at Utsuha, "You won't be killing anyone, if you get in a fight, hold him until I get there to finish him off."

Naruto nodded, "I don't expect you, Utsuha, and especially you, Leta, to kill anyone, I doubt you have the experience, or the ability to harden your own heart. Zev though, has been on assassination missions before," Zev nodded, "And for your information this mission is a B rank mission. I didn't want to send you all on this mission, but it required someone who could spend long hours awake."

"That makes our squad the perfect one for the job, since I don't need sleep, unless I exhaust my chakra."

Naruto nodded, "It was an odd request. I actually laughed when I saw that on the request sheet. Normally we would just have the shinobi who went on the mission take turns awake, but this is perfect."

Zev nodded, "When do we go?"

"You leave tomorrow. It will be about a two week's journey for shinobi; normally it's about a month. So you better start preparing. You're dismissed," he said waving his hand. Zev opened the door and Leta walked out, Utsuha followed. Zev waited for Osona, she turned but then the Hokage said, "Osona, I don't doubt Zev's abilities, but you need to be prepared as well…."

Osona nodded solemnly and left. Zev looked at the Hokage then left. Naruto sighed and resumed the pose he had before the others had walked in.

Utsuha was not quiet walking out of the Hokage's office, "What is he thinking! We can't kill anyone! Especially Leta! No offense. Plus, this is supposed to be a time for relaxing!"

"You and Leta aren't supposed to kill anyone, if a life needs to be taken, I'll take it," Utsuha shivered hearing Zev's voice, "Secondly, we're ninja. If we are to do a mission, then we do it."

"Yes… but… I don't want to… have to… kill anyone…."

Zev looked at Leta, "I think that if we were to assign roles, Leta, you would be the body guard. You just protect the daughter, only move defensively. Like I said, I'll be the one to take a life."

Osona decided to speak up, "Zev, I'm also capable of taking a life, I'll do it if need be."

Zev shrugged, "Well, we should be focusing on the positive."

"What's that?" Osona asked.

"We're going someplace warm."

Utsuha jumped from the sudden outburst of Osona cheering.

Zev shifted his pack as the squad started to move out. He had some poisons, senbon, some of his more potent black senbon, his strongest ones he had ever made, (he wasn't about to let the mistake he made with Orochimaru happen again) kunai and throwing stars. He wished he had room for a folding fuuma shuriken but he didn't. He had packed some canned soups as well.

Zev looked back at the others. Leta carried a small pack full of medicines. Utsuha carried enough food to last him a week, or three squads of ninja for a month. He also carried some weapons, but not nearly as many as Zev. But Zev tended to carry way more than he needed so Zev didn't bother Utsuha about it. That and Utsuha still was carrying Khalon's sword. Osona carried her normal pack, but Zev knew that she knew what she was doing.

Zev shifted his pack again as he walked out. After a ways he stopped, "I should probably summon Kuro," he muttered aloud.

The first thing the wolf said after he was summoned was, "You were supposed to summon me days ago!"

"Sorry, slipped my mind."

The wolf stared at Zev for a while, "I can't read your mind now… that's annoying."

Zev shrugged, "Well what can I say… it's not like I feel sorry for you…."

The wolf started walking, "Well, I can get a bit of your thoughts, but it's not like I can probe what's underneath the surface anymore."

Zev noticed that Kuro now had three tails and was a bit bigger, "I see you've gotten another tail."

"And you've gotten stronger," Kuro stopped and looked at Leta, "Would you rather ride me or walk?"

Leta jumped on the wolf's back, _Still the same as ever, _Zev thought.

_I can still read those thoughts, baka!_

Leta grabbed the wolf's ear and twisted it slightly, "Don't call him an idiot!"

_What she can read my thoughts too? Can you get her to stop? That hurts!_

Leta let go and the wolf shook his head, "Not only that, we can communicate through our thoughts," Zev said as he flicked Kuro on his nose. No one besides Leta and Kuro heard Zev.

Kuro shook his head again, "Man, this is no fun."

Utsuha said, "I think we should make camp here."

Osona looked back at him, "I don't think we should, there have been rumors of bandits in the area," but looking at Utsuha, who was nearly asleep standing up, Osona began to wonder if they should risk it.

Kuro spoke up, "I'm tired as well, I don't know how you aren't but I am, so is Leta."

Osona looked at Leta, she was asleep lying on Kuro's back, "Fine, I guess one night here wouldn't be so bad," although she still doubted it was a good idea.

Zev walked over and lifted Leta off of Kuro's back. She was very light and he lifted her as easy like picking up a feather. Kuro made a bed for her using his tails to create a soft spot of earth. He also showed off and made a mattress out of grass using his powers of wind to gather the grass. Zev laid Leta down, "Zev-kun…," she said in her sleep.

Zev smiled. It sounded somewhat odd, hearing someone add the honorific at the end of a name. Every one around Zev seemed to be very familiar with each other and didn't add the honorifics. So it had been a while since any one had said it, but Zev didn't mind hearing it.

Utsuha asked Kuro, "Could you make me a bed too? Like you did for Leta?"

Kuro smiled and nodded. He did the same for Utsuha, and then he proceeded to do the same for himself and Osona, _showoff, _Zev thought.

_Is that you're way of telling me you want me to make one for you too? _Kuro thought back as Osona and Utsuha lay down on their beds, and Zev made a campfire for warmth.

Zev shook his head, _Osona said there might be bandits, in this area. I'll keep watch, _he told Kuro as he lit the fire.

Kuro circled around his bed, _Suit yourself, _and he laid down.

It wasn't long until Kuro was asleep, and he snored louder than ever. Zev shook his head and sighed. He sat down and stared at the fire. He sighed, he just felt drained. Not tried, just drained, like he didn't want to continue on this mission. He reached into his pack and pulled out a can. He looked at the expiration date on the can, "only two months…" he mused. He began using his chakra to heat the can.

Because of Kuro's snoring he didn't hear people closing in on the camp fire. He felt a knife poke into his back, "Don't move, don't make a sound and you might live. Put your hands above your head," Zev complied, making sure the top of the can was facing the man behind him. He looked around and saw five more men. One was over Osona, two moved toward Leta, another put a knife near Kuro's throat, and a final held a katana over Utsuha's throat. The two over Leta laughed and looked at each other. Zev had seen the look on their faces before on drunks. One began reaching for Leta.

Zev snapped.

He sent all of his killer intent focused on the one reaching for Leta, imagining tearing his skull of his shoulders and gutting him at the same time. He imagined it so vividly that it seemed a reality. It was a technique he had created himself and had forbidden it. It was the strongest genjutsu Zev knew, it was also his specialty when it came to torture. The man fell over dead.

The one with the knife pulled away from Zev, a horrible mistake. Zev sent a burst of chakra into the can of soup and the lid popped off. The contents of the can were already boiling. Zev had been sending a steady stream of chakra into the can causing it to heat. The man started screaming as he clutched his eyes. Zev drew his sword and cut the man in two.

Zev began attempting to get a hold of his emotions and control his thoughts again. If he thought about anyone with in eyesight, they would die and he could not let that happen.

He dropped into a crouch and grabbed several black senbon from around his ankle and threw them at the remaining men. They weren't perfect shots, far from it, but the poison did the job, not immediately, they were totally conscious, they would feel the poison take over. The men fell over apparently dead, as every one in the camp began scrambling to get up. Zev clutched his shoulder as the curse mark began to spread. The first thing Leta did was run over to Zev and dulled the pain. After a long time, the curse mark started to recede.

"What happened to keeping watch, they look a little too close for comfort," Kuro commented.

"Well if it wasn't for your snoring they wouldn't have even been able to get near!" Kuro stepped back hearing the rage in Zev's voice.

Osona began looking at the bodies, "Well, looks like the bandits are dead now," She came up to the one that Zev killed with a thought, "What happened to him? There's not a mark on him."

Zev leaned back and clenched his teeth as another wave of pain shot through, "I did a forbidden jutsu on him," he said, slightly in control again.

"What? What did you sacrifice?"

Zev shook his head, "Nothing like that, I had forbidden it because it's so lethal. It overrides the mind with fear… It's a deadly illusion."

"You mean one of those torture techniques you talked about before?" Zev nodded, "I thought you didn't like to use those."

"I don't. But I just snapped. I couldn't control myself."

Osona looked at Zev, she pieced together what had made Zev snap like that, "I see."

"See what?" Leta asked, entirely unaware of what had just transpired.

"It's okay, it's over," Osona assured Leta.

Leta looked at Zev hoping to get some explanation, "Don't worry, Leta everythi-" Zev stopped talking and yelled as another wave of pain shot through his body the curse mark started to spread again.

Leta dropped the subject as she began to help Zev with her medical ninjutsu. Zev yelled again as another stronger wave of pain shot through. He fell over unconscious. Leta turned a dark red, mercifully hidden by the night, as Zev fell over and his head fell in her lap.


	36. Chapter 36 Travel

Author's notes: I suppose I actually don't have an excuse for getting these posted on time, except that you tend to forget when you're writing. I'm writing a book right now, and fyi it's a lot better then this. This was the warm up.

Disclaimer: look at any chapter

Chapter 36 Travel

When Zev woke up, it was morning. He began to sit up but he felt Leta's hand against his chest, "Don't sit up…"

"I'm fine," Zev said sitting up anyways. He had a pounding headache and his body screamed at him to lie down. He stood up rather shaky, "I'll be fine," he said correcting himself.

Leta stood up as well, "But Zev…" she started.

Zev put a hand up to his temple. He began sending his chakra through his hand, "It's okay, we need to get going," he stopped and looked at his hand.

Osona saw Zev look at his hand slightly confused, "What is it, Zev?"

"I- I- I'm not sure… I just did something that I normally wouldn't do because it pushed me to my limit quickly, but I did it without thinking."

"What?" Utsuha asked, "I've seen you do that before, with Leta when she was sick."

Zev shook his head, "That was a lot different. Then I channeled my chakra through her body and back to mine as a steady flow. This is different. By rapidly starting and stopping chakra flow from my hand to my head, I can level the chemicals in the brain. Therefore, curing headaches, or other things that are affected by odd chemical balances, but it uses a lot of mental energy to do it. It would push me to my limit before, so I rarely used it. I used it on Emiko once. Then I nearly passed out from that amount energy spent. You wouldn't think it used so much energy, but." he trailed off as he continued looking at his hand.

_Well, I've gotten stronger so you must have too, so maybe your limit increased._

Leta shook her head, _Zev, I used my byakugan to watch you when you passed out, your chakra flow was different last night. I think you still have some remnants of the effects of the curse mark, _she grabbed Zev's hand, "It scared me…"

Kuro looked at Leta, he had heard her thoughts,_ You should have told me about that._

_It was like a portion of your chakra was released. When I look at people with my byakugan, I can see the keirakukei, there's a part of the body where we store our chakra. Yours last night was many times bigger._

"It's okay, I know what happened," Zev said calming Leta down, "It's nothing life threatening or anything like, actually it's just the opposite."

Osona nodded seeing whatever they had been doing was settled, "Okay then, let's get going then."

Everyone nodded. Kuro let Leta get on his back. Zev walked along side Kuro. Utsuha ran up to Kuro and asked, "Any chance I can strap my sword to your back?"

"What am I am a pack mule? Yeah sure, go ahead."

"Thanks!" Utsuha said as he strapped the massive sword onto Kuro.

After a week of traveling, everyone except Zev and Osona were tired, "Are we there yet?" Utsuha asked.

"No for the last time! When we get there you'll know!" Osona shouted at the Uchiha.

Utsuha asked, "Oh yeah how?"

Zev said from the rock on the hill in front of them, "Come here and you'll see."

Leta was on Kuro's back getting off when Utsuha ran up, "Is that it?"

"Yes, that castle is a lot larger than it looks from here," Zev said pointing at the castle on the side of a mountain. It was only visible because of its spires being outlined by the blue sky. There was a valley in between them and the mountain with a river flowing through it, "I think we have about a five day journey before we get there. But I got an idea on how to get there quicker."

"Really how?" Utsuha asked.

There was a quick movement from behind Zev. Someone attacked Zev with a sword, "Zev!" Leta shouted. She was relieved when a log took his place.

The attacker looked around, "There goes the element of surprise."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Utsuha said as he began to rush the ninja.

"Don't interfere!" Kuro said stepping in between Utsuha and the attacker.

"Zev didn't talk about me? That hurts!"

The man fell flat on his face, Zev held his sword at his neck, "Yield."

"This makes fifty to forty-nine, your lead."

Zev let him get up, "One-hundred-fifty, to one-hundred-forty-nine," he corrected, "You got a new sword I see."

"Yea, I forged it myself, it's awesome."

"A new sword isn't enough to take me down, Noriko."

Noriko held up the sword. It covered his arm like his old one, but this was grey and it had a flat blade which had several teeth like projections on it, "That's not what I meant," Noriko said as the blade dissipated into a black mist, which revealed that his arm was covered with markings to summon the sword.

Utsuha's curiosity was spiked, "Whoa! How'd you do that?"

Noriko looked at Utsuha, "While the sword is forged, various spells and katas are weaved into it as well as the user's chakra. By the way, who are you?"

Zev spoke up, "Noriko, this Utsuha," he then waved at Osona, "Osona, my sensei," then he held Leta's hand, "and Leta. Everyone this is Noriko, a friend," then he asked Noriko, "One, how'd you find us? And two, where did you learn how to forge that sword?"

"I got back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, thanks to Sahlhi and Ai, and the Hokage told me where you went. As for the sword, I learned how to do it by listening to Orochimaru and Lobo talk about forging a sword. Lobo's forging his own sword."

Zev nodded, "I guess that means I need a new sword like that as well."

"Well, eventually. In the mean time you should finish this mission before worrying about that."

"Oh, yea!" Utsuha said, "What was that you said about cutting the travel time?"

Zev pointed at the river, "If we can find something to hold our weight we could use my _Fuubakun no jutsu _or Kuro's wind to propel ourselves along the river."

"Of course now that I'm here we can just create a tsunami, right?"

"I think that _might_ be over doing it a little."

"Maybe a little…"

Zev shook his head, "Anyways, we can't really think about that until we get down there so let's go."

Utsuha led the way, and Noriko followed. Zev held on to Leta's hand as they walked down. Osona followed closely behind, "This is turning out to be quite a group," she said to no one in particular.

When they neared the bottom of the valley, they could see a dock with a small boat tied to it. When they neared, Noriko said, "Something's wrong…" he formed a seal and closed his eyes, "I…don't… see anything…."

Utsuha said sarcastically, "I wonder if that's because your eyes are closed."

Leta activated her byakugan, "Neither do I…" she said quietly while searching for an aura.

Zev walked out on the boat, "Hey, I think I found out why."

Noriko walked out onto the boat and looked at what Zev was talking about, "Whoa Shit!" he said jumping back and unceremoniously falling off the boat.

"Well we found a means of transportation… the owner won't be complaining…"

Osona now walked out as well. She covered her mouth when she saw what had freaked Noriko out. The man was pinned against the wall with a sword through his heart. The blood on the wall had dried. He was long dead, "What should we do with him?"

Noriko got back on the boat, "Well first, should we let Leta and Utsuha see this?"

Osona shook her head, "Utsuha, yes, but not Leta. Zev go back and make sure Leta doesn't see the body. Tell Utsuha to get out here though."

Zev nodded and walked to the others, "What's going on?" Utsuha asked.

"Go out there, they need your help," Leta moved as well, "Leta, you shouldn't see this. Let's go."

He wrapped an arm around her and led her away, "What… happened?" she asked.

Zev sighed, "I don't know, but the owner of the boat was murdered," Leta's eyes went wide and she looked back. She only saw a glimpse of the body before Zev stepped in front of her, "Osona and I both think you shouldn't see this Leta."

Leta turned away from the boat, "Y-y- you're right," she said grabbing onto Zev.

Before long they were on the boat. Kuro used one of his howls to get them going. Leta sat next to Zev in the front of the small boat. She glanced at the blood stain on the wall and shuddered. Even that small glimpse of the corpse had freaked her out. She held onto Zev and buried her head in his chest.

Everyone was silent. The grim discovery had dampened everyone's mood. Utsuha walked up from under the deck of the boat, "Hey, look at what I found!" Leta looked up at Utsuha to see him putting a fish in his mouth. There was a whistle of air and Utsuha bit his finger, "Ouch! What the-?" He looked at the blood stained wall and the fish was pinned to it with a senbon.

"Careful! You have no idea whether or not that's poisoned. Someone killed the boat's owner, yet left valuable things behind. We don't know why they did that. That's not something you should risk."

Utsuha sat down and sighed, "I can't wait till we finish this mission."

Osona spoke up, "That might be a while… the Hokage said this could last the whole of the winter season."

Utsuha glared at Osona, "You really know how to bring somebody down."

Osona laughed, "I'll make it up to you if you give me the negatives."

Utsuha shook his head and ducked as Osona threw several random things from her bag at him. Noriko sighed, ignoring the fight breaking out, "Are you sure I can't just make a tsunami?"

"No. N-O okay? " Zev said promptly, "Besides I doubt this boat could take it."

"Fine, but it will be quicker."

"Still, I'd prefer to be in one piece when we get there."

Noriko was about to argue when he noticed Zev was somewhat upset. Noriko used the jutsu _menokokoro no jutsu _to look into Zev's heart. Besides what he saw in Leta, and the ties connecting her and Zev, he was surprised to find that there were two different hearts in Zev. One was in complete turmoil, the other was in a somewhat better state. Noriko stood up and walked over to the couple, "Leta, I need to borrow Zev."

Leta was reluctant to let go. Zev spoke up, "What is it?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

"You can talk to both of us," Zev said simply, not meaning any disrespect.

Noriko shook his head, "You should hear this first before Leta."

Zev sighed, "Sorry Leta," he stood up and walked with Noriko to the other side of the boat.

"Zev, why'd you cut yourself off from your emotions again?"

"Why did you look?"

"Because you seemed a little upset."

Zev shook his head, "Curiosity killed the cat, Noriko. I did it because I don't need emotions bothering me right now. It's not easy because I know the feelings that I have for Leta, and I can't completely let them go."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Well," Zev said looking back at Leta, who desperately trying to avoid looking at the wall, "Leta has never had an experience with death. This whole thing freaked her out. I don't want to make it worse and I don't want my emotions clouding my judgment right now. She's scared and frightened."

"She's also angry," Noriko said so quietly that Zev didn't hear him. Noriko sighed, "Zev, you can't run from this," he held up a hand to silence Zev, "I know you think you aren't but you are. You have to talk to her, it doesn't matter if your emotions are in the way or not. It's not like you can learn anything by avoiding the matter like this."

"I suppose you're right," Zev sighed, "Sometimes you're so much like Jada."

"Besides, have you heard one thought from Leta since you've cut yourself off?"

Zev looked at him, "Now that you mention it, no I haven't. But sometimes we don't hear each others thoughts, but…" he turned and looked back at Leta.

"I think you know what to do now," Noriko said smiling.

Zev nodded, he closed his eyes and restored his emotions, _Why hasn't Zev been talking to me? Am I that weak? _he heard from Leta as soon as he had done so.

_Sorry,_ Leta jumped, _that's part of what Noriko wanted to talk to me about, _he told her as he walked back to her, _I was being a little childish I guess and I cut my self off from my emotions to avoid freaking you out with that, _he didn't need to say what it was he was talking about.

Leta held onto him when he sat down, _I'm sorry it's just that… _an image of the corpse flashed through her mind and Zev's as well. She shuddered and held onto Zev even tighter.

Kuro's laughs seeped into their thoughts, _and you always give me a hard time._

Zev let a small burst of chakra shoot through his fingers at Kuro, _anyways, this was your first experience with death, and I didn't want to make it any worse. So I cut myself off of my emotions to make myself thing clearer. Noriko told me I was running away from it._

_You weren't! _

_No, Leta, I was. I shouldn't have let you sit here afraid. Even though I was right here, I let you have to go through it alone. I'm sorry…_

Leta felt horrible. Worse than she did, not because Zev had made it worse, but because he felt he was in the wrong and needed to apologize. Leta rarely had anyone apologize to her and it was slightly awkward for her, _Zev…_

_I mean… its normal for me to be around death. I'm a ninja, so are you, and it's something we have to live with. I don't even remember what it's like to not know death… _Leta and Zev were quiet for a long time, _I just really fucked this up didn't I?_

Leta giggled, which caught Zev by surprise, _no, I don't know why, but when you're serious. No sugar coating the truth, not softening anything, just saying it, I feel more… comfortable. _

Zev sighed a sigh of relief. He was afraid he would just have depressed her more. He was having trouble thinking he was so worried about Leta that he hadn't stopped to think about what he was saying. Surprisingly, he hadn't made her anymore frightened, nor did he scare her about what the future might hold.

Leta sighed and began to tighten her grip on Zev. Unlike before, she wasn't clinging to him entirely out of fear. Kuro laughed. Leta let go of Zev to send a small jolt of chakra at the wolf,"Baka!"the wolf shouted, thinking it was Zev.

_Shouldn't you use another burst of wind? _Zev reminded the wolf.

_I'm going, I'm going…_ the wolf thought as he got up

When they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain it was night. Zev looked around. His vision was sharper than the others but he was having some trouble seeing. He looked to the sky and sighed, _no moon, _he thought.

Leta looked at Zev then at the sky. Noriko was able to find a dock and had tied the boat to it. Leta was still on the boat waiting. Zev had said he was going to try to find a path up the mountain but in the meantime he wanted everyone to wait. Leta was watching Zev with her byakugan. The night was able to cover almost everything. She was still able to see Zev thanks to the aura around him.

Leta watched Zev as he climbed the mountain. He was using chakra control to walk up the side of the rock face. Leta saw a section of rock break off from under Zev's foot. She gasped and covered her mouth as Zev began to fall. Zev grabbed onto the rock face with his hand. Leta breathed a sigh of relief. Utsuha came up from under the deck, "Hey! Look at what I found! Torches!"

"Why would there be torches on the boat?" Osona wondered aloud.

Noriko sighed, "Well probably because of what Zev's doing now. I'm guessing that the late owner came here often."

_I got good news and bad news… _Zev told Leta as she watched him pull himself up a ledge.

_What's the good news? _

_The good news is that I found a path… the bad news is that it is on this ledge and it's very unstable. I don't know how to get up here unless you use chakra control._

Utsuha lit one of the torches with his fireball, "Hey look at that!" He shouted as the flame uncovered a path, "There's the path."

_Zev, we found a path._

_You've got to be joking…_

Utsuha laughed. He put a hand to his mouth and shouted, "Hey, Zev! Looks like your eyes need a check up!"

Utsuha shouted and fell over the side of the boat as a bolt of lightning hit dead center on his forehead protector, "I can see better than you!"

Noriko grabbed the torch before it hit the deck, "Let's get going," he said.

"I can't swim that well!" Utsuha shouted over the side of the boat.

"Your on the dock, now let's go," Osona said as sternly as possible. But she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, right…" Utsuha said as he stopped flailing around to realize he had fallen onto the dock. He stood up and brushed himself, "Let's go."

Noriko lit a torch and left it on the boat. When they caught up to Zev he turned and said, "Let's see if the boat could have taken a tsunami," he turned and made several hand signs, "_Erainami no jutsu!" _

Despite the darkness, Zev could see the water begin to rise up into a massive wave. Zev sighed. The waved crashed into the boat and tore it into pieces, "You know that was our way back right?"

Noriko shrugged, "Well, what's a day or two of extra travel time," Osona punched him, "Hey you can't hit me! I'm not your student!"

"She's still your senior…."

"Zev! Don't tell me you're siding with her!"

"This time, yeah, I am."

"Shouldn't we… get going?"

Utsuha also spoke up, "I agree, maybe we can get to sleep in a bed tonight."

Zev shrugged, "I don't know how long those torches burn and I don't know how far it is to our destination, but it doesn't make sense to just sit here so let's go."

An hour later the torch burned out. Utsuha sighed, "Well at least we got two more," Utsuha reached for the torch on his back and the rope holding them slid across the sword on Utsuha's back and the rope was cut. Utsuha looked over helplessly as the torches fell to ground over the side of the mountain. He looked at the others, "Please don't kill me."

Zev sighed, "I didn't want to have to use this but I guess I have to," he bit his finger and smear his royal blue blood on his palm. Utsuha and Osona didn't get a chance to see the color though because their eyes were still getting used to the dark. Leta didn't need to see the blood to know its color, as did Noriko, who had trained often with Zev. He made several hand signs and held out his hand. Chakra began to jump around his hand like lightning and created light which allowed everyone to see.

"Cool," Utsuha commented, "wait… why didn't you do that when you were climbing the back down there?"

"Because it drains my chakra quickly, to be honest, I'm barely managing this technique. I doubt I even have an hour to hold this, let's get moving again."

Leta reached into one of her pouches in her bag, "I have… some of the… chakra balls with me… can those help?"

Zev nodded, "But I'll take them later. Right now we should keep moving."

Leta nodded and ran up to Zev. She put her arm through Zev's and held on tightly.


	37. Chapter 37 Arrival

Author's notes: Not much. I'll have something for the next chapter though.

Disclaimer: Look at any other chapter

Chapter 37 Arrival

Zev was surprised that they had arrived during the night. Utsuha had found a shortcut, _I'm glad Yukio isn't the one with us, _Zev thought as he remembered all the times he had gotten them lost.

Leta was barely awake. She yawned. Zev realized he was somewhat tired as well, although not as tired as he thought he should have been. Not that he was upset with that. The group walked out in front of the gate. Zev turned and looked at the others. They all looked exhausted. Zev held up his hand and poured more chakra into the light. Making the sphere of light shine much brighter, he shouted "Open the gate!"

"Who's goes there?" someone shouted

Zev shouted back "Shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves!

"You're early!" then the gates started opening. A man walked out, "You weren't due for another week. However I'm not complaining."

Zev was surprised, "Agatone-sama? Shouldn't you be a little more careful? After all you came out assuming we are who we say we are…."

"You can just use san. Besides, I'm good at judging a book from its cover, and I was told to expect you early. You actually fit right on time," Leta yawned again. Agatone looked closer at her, "she's half asleep. Why don't I get you all some rooms and we can talk in the morning?"

Zev nodded, "I don't need to rest but the others do. Thank you."

"You're welcome, now come inside."

Zev was surprised by the interior of the large castle. He at first thought it would be all grey brick but the walls were covered with murals. Zev looked back at the others. They had managed to shake themselves awake to look at the paintings. Leta was still dog-tired though. Zev noticed Agatone was walking slower. Zev guessed that was for everyone to get a good look at the paintings. Agatone brought them down several hallways and opened up two rooms, "One for the women and one for the men."

Zev nodded and brought Leta into one of the rooms and laid her down on the bed. Osona just fell down on her bed and was asleep. Zev looked into the room that he would be sleeping in later and saw that he wouldn't have a bed, "Dang it Kuro," he said aloud, "Oh well, I'm not feeling tired enough to need sleep anyways."

Agatone said without looking at Zev, "Aren't you tired at all?"

Zev shrugged, "I am a little, Agatone-san, but I do not need sleep at the moment. I am capable of staying awake for long periods of time."

"Then would you like to come with me and grab something to eat?"

Zev was about to shake his head no, but then his stomach growled, "Well, I guess I could use something to eat. Thank you."

Agatone walked down the hall. Zev followed next to him keeping good posture, "Is that really comfortable?" Agatone asked, "You don't have to be so proper around me. Trust me, if you were in a position like mine, you'd get tired of it too."

Zev let himself relax, _he's a really relaxed person. He reminds me of the Hokage, _Zev thought.

"There is one question I'd like to ask you."

"What is that?"

"Do you know a person you strongly resemble?"

Zev stiffened slightly, "I may, why do you ask?"

"You look a lot like Lobo."

"Oh? And what is your opinion of him?"

"First, I'd like to hear yours."

"It seems like we have a small predicament."

"Yes, because if I tell you I hate the man, and you are loyal to him. I have made an enemy."

"And if I tell you I hate him, and you are loyal to him. I'm trapped here until he can come and take care of me or he may send one of his men loyal to him."

Agatone smiled, "I really hate his guts."

"Me too."

Agatone put a hand on Zev's shoulder, still smiling, "Do be somewhat careful. The shinobi who were guarding my daughter are still here. I think they may be loyal to him."

"Thanks, I will be, but a squad mate of mine can tell the difference between someone who's loyal to Lobo, or loyal to me."

Agatone titled his head, "Loyal to you? Are you also arranging an alliance?"

Zev shook his head, "Somehow I emit a blue aura. Those who also emit a blue aura seem to think along the same lines as me and they become good friends. Lobo emits a red aura. Those who emit a red aura as well seem to be corrupted like him. There are people who emit a gold aura and they seem to be above other's influences, for good or for evil."

Agatone held up a hand, "We can continue talking about this later. There's the kitchen and you can see the others in there."

Zev nodded and followed Agatone.

Leta tightened her grip on Zev's arm and found he was no longer there. She sat up in bed. She put a hand to her forehead and remembered where she was. She didn't remember coming into the castle but she did remember getting close to it. She guessed Zev carried her in. She looked at Osona asleep on her bed. She activated her byakugan and looked for Zev. It wasn't long before she found him. Her connection to Zev helped her find him.

She saw another blue aura next to him but it was very dim and Leta assumed it was because he was so far away. Leta saw three red auras nearby Zev as well. Leta thought she should stay in bed but she decided not to.

Leta followed the winding corridors and was able to find the room where Zev was thanks to her byakugan guiding her. She noticed that all the auras besides Zev's seemed to grow larger. She guessed Zev's was already completely visible because of her strong emotions tied to him. Leta peaked around the corner. She could see the three red aura ninja completely. They wore simple tan clothes like what Zev wore as Tengin. But instead of brown boots and a brown robe they wore black. The robe of the one on the right had the kanji for hate, the one in the middle had the kanji for death, and the one on the left had the kanji evil. Each was sewn on them in red thread. Also they wore their headbands across their forehead protectors. They were from the village in the sand.

They were on the other side of the table in the room drinking sake. Leta had tried the drink once. She hated it. She looked at Zev. He was sitting next to some man who Leta didn't know. He was the source of the other blue aura.

The man noticed Leta first. He nudged Zev. Zev looked up and smiled, _I'm scared, _Leta thought.

Zev jumped over the table and stood right in front of her. He put a hand on her shoulder, "what's wrong?"

"Those men,they have a strong red aura…"

Zev turned and looked at the men. They were staring at him. He scowled and they turned away. Zev looked at Leta, "Don't worry, okay?"

Leta nodded a bit and gripped Zev's arms tightly, "O-okay," she said quietly.

Zev let a small burst of killer intent reach the Sand Ninja. Zev almost laughed as one ran out of the room. The others followed slowly trying not to show fear. When they were gone Zev looked at Leta, "That was almost too easy."

Leta smiled, "Thanks, Zev, they're gone."

Leta looked at Agatone, "Come in! Are you hungry at all?"

"Do… I know you… Sir?"

"You were half asleep when you came in so I'm not surprised you don't remember me. I'm Agatone."

"Oh! A-A-Agatone-s-sama!" Leta said bowing.

"If you're going to add an honorific, use –san please… I don't like it when people use –sama."

"Of c-course, Agatone-sama, oh… I mean A-A-Agatone-san!"

"Relax! I'm not going to hurt you. If it's really easier for you, you can call me Agatone-sama," Agatone said shaking his head smiling.

Zev smiled and pulled Leta into the room. It was somewhat small, especially if you considered the size of the castle. A table in the center filled up most of the room. There were cabinets around the walls of the room. Leta tried to get herself to relax and failed at it. Agatone moved and sat at the head of the table so that Leta could sit next to Zev. She sat down in his old seat and kept tapping her index fingers together nervously.

"Zev told me you can see people's auras. What color is mine?" he asked trying to get her to relax.

Leta did relax somewhat remembering that Agatone's was blue like Zev's. She put her hands in her lap, "Yours is blue like Zev's."

Agatone leaned back, "So I wonder if that means I'm being influenced by Zev."

Leta looked up at him, "Well, uh… actually I've seen some people who have blue auras as well. I think maybe there are people who are like Zev and can influence people."

Zev sat down next to Leta, "That's a scary thought…."

Leta looked at Zev. Then Agatone spoke, "You're right. If there are people who can influence for good like us, then there may be people who are just like Lobo."

Leta reached up and touched her face. The thought scared her. Agatone sat up straight again, "Anyways, um… Leta is it? Would you like something to eat?" he stood up and opened a cabinet, "We have quite a bit."

Leta stood up and looked through all the food. She found several ingredients and made a small meal for each of them. Agatone was surprised that she had made something for all of them. He sat down and took a bite, "You know…" he looked at Leta, "you'll make a great wife someday!"

Leta blushed a deep red. Zev put an arm over her shoulder, "she really is a good cook isn't she?"

Agatone smiled, "Yes, she's almost as good as my wife," he lost his smile and looked at the small meal Leta had prepared.

"We… heard about your loss, I'm sorry…" Leta said quietly.

Agatone shook his head, "It's nothing you two should worry about. Nothing you two could have done. She died… no, was murdered, a long time ago…"

"Murdered?" Leta asked.

"Yes, a man came to my house that day; back when I allowed everyone to come in and granted everyone who needed a place to stay a place in my house. He came in, asked for a place to stay the night," he shook his head, "I should have noticed it at dinner. He kept telling me that someone close to me might get hurt if I continued to earn money and grow in power. I smiled and told him, I have tried to appease everyone. But he laughed and shook his head. That night… my wife died. It looked completely natural and I would have thought it was. Except… Nagäku was gone the next morning."

Zev looked at Leta, "It can't be that easy…"

Agatone turned and looked at them, "What do you mean?"

Zev leaned forward, "Well, Agatone-san, recently a man came to our village, Orochimaru," Zev's hand went instantly to his curse mark. Leta put a hand over Zev's and Zev continued, "While there though, he referred to himself as Nagäku…"

"Is he dead?"

"No, but I plan on changing that soon."

"Good, tell me when you do."

"I promise, but… he has been surprisingly resistant to death in the past."

"I understand…"

Leta leaned into Zev, "Zev, do you… really plan on killing Orochimaru?"

"Yes, because I doubt he'll simply let me kill Lobo."

Leta slipped her hand into Zev's, "Please don't take unnecessary risks…"

Zev took great care in responding, "Leta, my clan, my blood line, is known for taking great risks." _It happens in all our deaths…_ He thought forgetting she could hear his thoughts.

_What do you mean? _She asked frightened about what he could mean.

_I pray, nothing, nothing at all. Leta, even if my fears turn into a reality… I don't want you to lose yourself in sorrow…_

_You're scaring me Zev… what do you mean? Please tell me… _

Zev licked his lips, _Leta… _he took a lot thought about how to say what he needed to say _Your father… would he give up his own life to save you or your mother? _

_Yes…_

_That's what the dying moments in our clan tend to pivot on. Do you see what I am saying?_

_I think so… you're telling me that most likely when you die… it will be to save someone's life?_

_Most likely yours, but I don't want you to morn my death for too long. _

_I can't promise that…and you can't ask me to._

Zev sighed, "Leta… you should probably go back to bed."

"What? B-b-but I'm-"

Zev out an arm around her and squeezed her tightly, "You won't be in the morning. Just because we're on a mission, it doesn't mean we won't be training."

Leta stood up, "You're right," she faced Agatone, "Agatone-sama, I-I-I mean Agatone-san, if you would excuse me."

He nodded and she walked out of the room, "How long have you know each other?"

"Quite a while now…" Zev said. He tapped his glass. Normally at the Village Hidden in the Leaves he wouldn't be allowed to drink Sake, but in his clan we would have been allowed to and he occasionally did. It brought back bitter memories. He sighed, "I feel sorry for her."

"Why?"

"Well… she's somewhat… dependent on me. If I grow stronger, she gets strength to grow stronger as well."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Zev shook his head, "not in this case, no, my clan is known for dying young. We have a jutsu. It sacrifices the user, but it unleashes a power that decimates entire armies. My brother, as you know, has several of the villages in an alliance, if he decides to attack the village I must use it. "

"Why?"

"Because, they could have turned me away, instead they let me enter the village. I have no doubt some may have thought that was a terrible decision. If Lobo comes knocking at the village gates with an army, it will severally damage the village's view of the Hokage."

"I see…"

Zev lifted his glass, "Sir, I'd suggest getting some sleep yourself."

"I'll do that… don't get too drunk…"

Zev laughed and shook his head, "No, I've had enough as is, besides I don't get drunk, my body breaks down the alcohol much faster than a normal person."

He shook his head, "Does everyone in your clan have so many abilities and powers?"

Zev shrugged, "Well… we have the same basics at least. Everyone's own power varies. Mine is much greater than others," he said quietly, "my end will be too."

"I see, well, I'm off to get a good night's sleep. Even though you don't need sleep, you should get some rest, you have a few days before you're on duty watching my daughter."

Zev nodded, "I know, but I sense something coming. I think it'd be better if I stayed awake." Agatone nodded and left. Zev stood up and drew a kunai out from a pack on his belt, "I can't let them live much longer."


	38. Chapter 38 An Alcido's end

Author's ntoes: I'll save these for the end

Disclaimer: Yes I wrote the whole thing with this chapter ( for the second half of it at least) in mind.

Real disclaimer: Look at any other chapter

Chapter 38 An Alcido's end

Zev walked along the halls. He found the rooms of the three other shinobi.

One of them was outside the rooms keeping watch. He looked at Zev, "What are-" he stopped talking as the kunai flew by his head, "What the hell?"

Zev spat, "I missed."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Drop the act… I know you three. The Brothers in Darkness. I wonder why you wear the Village Hidden in the Sand's forehead protectors."

The ninja tore off his forehead protector, revealing the Rain Village's insignia tattooed on his forehead, "You should have just let things be, Zev." He pointed his hands at Zev and thirty senbon shot out of his sleeves and went straight at Zev. Zev disappeared, "What?"

Zev reappeared right behind him and slit his throat. He clutched at his throat and fell to the ground. Zev stepped over the body and found the other two in their rooms.

One was asleep while the other was writing a letter. The one writing the letter turned and looked at Zev, "Shit!" he said as he put his hand over the paper "_Ninpou-_" he didn't finish the jutsu as Zev threw a kunai that buried its self into his head. The other woke up and Zev put him to rest with a quick slash using his sword. Zev took the bodies away from the castle and disposed of them.

Zev walked into the castle and found that everyone was awake. Osona looked at Zev, "Where have you been! Someone attacked! We found blood but we can't find the bodies of the other ninja who were here."

Zev threw the three headbands on the ground, "they weren't who they claimed to be. They were known as the Brothers in Darkness."

"Zev… what are you…"

"They are notorious for killing the people they're supposed to guard. Also, they were my brother's best friends, and certainly my enemies."

"You killed them?"

"Yes…" Zev began to feel a dark emotion filling up in him. He pushed it off with a thought but the power that the curse mark had was a great power to resist.

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure they were who you thought they were?"

Zev looked at Leta who was quivering then at Utsuha, "Utsuha, keep Leta here and do not follow us. Osona, come with me." Zev led Osona to where he had destroyed the bodies by burning them. He dug into the ground and pulled out the head of the third brother who had hate sewn into his robe, "I knew you wouldn't believe me, but there was no time to find you and explain before acting, so I kept one of their heads to show you their symbol."

Osona closed her eyes, "Why don't they have a forehead protector with that on them?"

"They were arrogant; they said that no one would get a scratch on their forehead," Zev said as he threw the head into the air and blasted it with _Saceno no jutsu. _Zev felt a wave of pain emanate from the curse mark and he placed a hand there without thinking

"All right, let's get back. Leta can help you with the mark."

Zev nodded and led the way back. When he had found Leta and Utsuha again, he had had four waves from his curse mark. Leta ran up to him and immediately began soothing the pain, "I could feel the waves of pain from here."

Zev grunted, "Next time, I'll make sure to shield you from it."

"Zev…" she started.

"Ah there you are," Agatone said walking up, "I heard the commotion," he leaned close to Zev, "Thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome."

Agatone straightened up and said, "I know you all were hired by me to protect my daughter, but," he held out a piece of paper.

Zev took it and read it, "We got to go now!" he said jumping up.

"What is it Zev?" Noriko asked.

Zev looked at Noriko, "You finish the mission, but we got to go back because the Village is under attack."

"No…" Osona breathed out.

"Yes, by the entirety of the Alliance."

"Then we don't have time to waste," Utsuha said, "Let's go."

Zev led the group out. He decided it'd be quicker to go in a straight line to the village back rather than going along the paths. Kuro thought, _if you wish to go ahead, I'll stay here with Leta and the others. _

Zev looked back at Utsuha and dropped speed to go along side him, "Utsuha, if I die, I want you to care for Leta. Make sure she doesn't get depressed over my death, beyond hope."

Utsuha looked at Zev, "You worried?"

"No, just preparing."

"Preparing for your death? That's kind of depressing."

Zev shook his head, "It's normal in my clan," he then looked at Osona, "Osona, I'm going to go ahead, I can probably go much faster than you all. If you guys lose me, lead them yourself." She nodded and Zev ran as fast as he could. When the others could no longer see him he changed his clothes to white, a common thing in his clan, "Who was I kidding?" He said as he ran a little faster, "I'm never going to be free of my village and my clan. My curse is also my blessing," He closed his eyes and thought of Leta, "I'm sorry, but there's no way we can hope to defeat him unless I unleash it." His mind thought of all the others who had made life worth living for him, "Ai, Sashii, Keishin Utsuha, Saken, Sahlhi, Osona, Emiko, Yukio, Noriko," he paused as he unleashed a gate of his chakra to run faster, "I'm sorry that everything had to turn out like this, but this is my fate. I would have to do this sooner or later."

Zev managed to get to the Village Hidden in the Leaves many days earlier than normal since he didn't stop to rest or to eat, "Rest can come later," he thought as he walked up to the Hokage and various joinin. Some of whom Zev recognized. Gai, Kakashi, Saskue, even Sakura had come out to fight. The Hokage sighed, "I'm going to unleash the Nine-tailed fox, it probably will kill me, but there are plans in place for another Hokage to come after me."

Sasuke stood up, "What are you saying! You still have Leta to consider! Why are you just-!"

"Wait," Zev said and everyone looked at him, "I should go out first, it's my fault they came here."

The Hokage frowned, "Where's Leta? And Utsuha? And Osona?"

"I ran ahead," Zev walked up to the Hokage, "Take everyone behind the walls. I'll go out alone. I have to die out there in order to save this village."

"You're insane."

"You know very well I have to. Can this entire village stop every other village? The Sand won't be able to come for a while and neither can the Mist. They've already called for my death haven't they?" The Hokage nodded, "Then let them have it," the Hokage was seriously contemplating it, "All I ask, is for you to pull everyone back and to tell Leta I'm sorry."

The Hokage closed his eyes, "Pull everyone back," there was a murmur in the crowd, "I said pull them back!" He looked at Zev, "Go on…"

Zev bowed, "Thank you, sir," as Zev ran off Naruto thought hard and hoped.

Zev walked out onto the field in front of the enemy. They enemies lines stretched out in all directions and Zev wondered even with what he was about to do, if they could be defeated. Zev sighed and pulled out a kunai, _I'm sorry Leta, there was so much I wanted to do with you, I wanted to teach you my taijutsu a lot, this was what I was thinking of when I said I might not be there to defend you, in fact, I knew that I wouldn't be able too…Noriko, I would have liked to see how you led your village, maybe your village will be a great power someday… Saken, I would have liked to have seen how your life played out, you are a lot like me and Naruto, but your people are understanding and do no fear you like Naruto was, nor does your family hate you like mine… Ai, I hope at least, you'll be able to keep your chin up… Emiko, Yukio, I wish I could spend more time with you, you gave up your families for me, I thank you for that… Utsuha, I think that you'll become strong someday, strong enough to be amongst the Hokages… Keishin, I hope that you'll become a strong leader, I see no reason why you won't… Osona, please, take care of Leta for me, help her grow strong… Sahlhi, I hope that you'll be be able to follow in your father's foot steps, become stronger, for yourself, and those you love… Sashii, I hope that you'll become strong, and be able to defend those you love, I wish I had grown to know you more, but it appears that that's not the hand I've been delt, _then he uttered "_Akuma rei no jutsu_…," before he stabbed himself in the heart. He saw the two demons being created before he was engulfed in darkness.

Naruto watched the spectacle from the village walls. The two demons, Lobo and Zev, were set free again to rampage amongst the enemy troops. The sky clouded over and lightning and fire shot down from the sky. It was the most horrible thing yet the most amazing thing that he had ever seen.

Naruto shuddered as the demons themselves joined the carnage. Their jaws snapping up victims and there paws flattening anything that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their tails were whipping back and forth striking down anyone who tired to run.

The whole gruesome scene lasted fifteen minutes. Then Lobo turned on to Zev and bit him. The demons burst and a great wind swept almost everything. Leave a few very frightened soldiers on the field and one corpse. The rest had all been had been reduced to nothing more then dust.

Naruto ran down himself and brought Zev's body back into the village, "My daughter loved you. And not only did you save the village, you saved me. I would have died if I unleashed the nine-tailed fox. You sacrificed yourself even with so much ahead of you to save everyone, you're one splendid ninja."

He set Zev down on a table. Sakura looked at him, "The fatal wound on his chest is gone," she noted, "And didn't he have a curse mark?"

Naruto paid attention but didn't get his hopes up.

Several days later, the others arrived. Kuro had been unusually silent, and that put everyone on edge. Leta looked out at the field and saw that there was no one out there, "I thought the village was under attack," Osona said.

Leta's thoughts turned back to the conversation they had had a few nights before. She ran ahead into the village, she found her father waiting for her, "Leta-"

"Where's Zev?" She asked. Naruto turned away, "Where is he?"

"He's… dead…"

Leta simply fell to her knees and tears began to fall from her cheek.

"I'll take you to him, if you want to go." Leta nodded and held onto her father's hand.

Zev was in complete blackness, "What is it I've forgotten?" Zev said aloud yet silent. He had forgotten something and he couldn't remember it for the longest time. It came to him in a flash, "Oh, yea, my name, Zev Alcido," he laughed, "Funny, I almost had forgotten my name, but I remember exactly why I'm here."

"You failure of a mortal being," he heard as a clacking of claws entered his hearing.

"What are you talking about?" Zev asked, "I defeated Lobo's army."

"Yes, but you've still lost. And look!" Lobo said laughing, "You claim to have loved Leta to the point that'd you'd save everything she loved at the price of your life! But you were her everything! I still beat you Zev!"

Another clacking came into Zev's hearing, he felt a muzzle push his arm and he sat up, it was an odd sensation, he could move, but he wasn't moving, "I doubt anyone could love anyone more than that he would give his own life then for his friend."

"Get out of here! I won! I've spread my misery!"

"You aren't even close! I'm still here! Nothing you can say can change that! No lie you can tell will make this false! I'm still here!"

Zev looked at the wolf made out of fire, "Hey, Lobo!" The wolf looked at him, "Remember those images I showed you that I was going to do to you if I got a chance?" Zev took his sweet time tormenting the demon, and enjoyed every second of it.

Leta was crying over Zev's body, "he can't be gone, he can't…."

"I'm sorry Leta…" She continued crying, "He told me before he went out to tell that he was sorry too…"

Osona, Utsuha and Kuro walked up at that moment, "He's gone?" Utsuha asked. Naruto nodded.

Kuro howled in morning. He yelped as lightning shot at him, "Will you shut it?" Zev said rolling over, "Let the dead rest in piece."

"Zev!" Leta shouted as she wrapped her arms around him.

Zev laughed as sat up and held her tightly, "I thought you were gone for good," Naruto said, "I tried not to get my hopes up that you'd be resurrected like your brother, but I dared to hope."

"Looks like your hope was well placed, but I'm still tired though."

"Well, you certainly deserve some rest, but I think it'd be best to get you to hospital before you sleep some more. Just in case…"

"Yeah, I know," Zev said as Leta helped him up, "I'll go over there now."

Utsuha came over and helped Zev as well. When the three of them got to the hospital Utsuha left to inform Yukio what happened and ask him to send a letter to Noriko back with Agatone.

Leta never left Zev's side as the nurses and doctors ran all sorts of tests on Zev. He was in perfect health except for a little fatigue. When Zev was finally left to rest, he heard a clacking of claws. Zev sat up and looked at the source. It was the white wolf with red streaks in its fur, "Come," it said turning, "Let's walk."

* * *

Author's notes: Yes I had written this whole fanfiction with this chapter in mind. I originally was going to keep Zev dead, but I felt slightly sorry for my characters and all that, so I brought him back. The next chapter explains how, so... go finish reading it. 


	39. Chapter 39 A Cry of the Heart

Author's notes: This is the last chapter, finally I got all the chapters put up. For those of you who read it all and commented, you're the best, I would still like to hear your comments on the whole fanfic. Go ahead and comment. Please?

Disclaimer: Look at any chapter previous of this.

Chapter 39 A Cry of the Heart

Zev stood up and looked back at his bed, he was lying on the bed still, "Don't worry, you're only asleep."

Zev followed the wolf he walked out the door and was suddenly in a field full of red and white flowers. The wolf was sitting on a hill next to a tree watching a sunset. Zev walked up to the wolf and sat down. The wolf looked at Zev then back at the sunset, "Just like the sun setting, you're time as a ninja is up."

Zev nodded, "I know. Zev, the wolf, has no power, and I destroyed Lobo and used his power to revive myself, right?"

The wolf laughed, "No, Zev the wolf is regaining his power and Lobo's death opened the void to world of the living. You didn't take any of his power. However, your power has dropped to half of what it was. You can still fight, but now that would be a fool's choice. Lobo has lost all power in his alliance and it's disintegrating. No one will believe him after how many lives were lost by your first death. If word gets out you survived that some may see it fit to kill you again and make sure that power never gets released again."

"I see…"

"Why are you so down? You know that you were hoping for this. The curse mark, which was removed at your death, has done damage to your heart. You've noticed it. You've been feeling tired recently… and much quicker to anger. It didn't help that you used killer intent to kill that man. Your heart is crying out for rest, for freedom."

Zev nodded, "What about Leta though? How is this going to affect her?"

The wolf took a deep breath, "I don't know… that's for her to decide. But I can tell you this… the Hokage is planning on keeping you off missions for good. You resurrected Kakashi and Gai, you saved entire village… no one will question it if he has you retire. You're a hero now to the Village."

"What about everyone else?"

"They'll probably continue on the path they're traveling. I really cannot say anything about them. The only thing I can really do is offer you advice and wisdom. To be honest, you don't have to take it."

Zev laughed, "No, you're right… I'm tired… I don't really want to keep fighting."

"Maybe you should wake up now."

Zev nodded and opened his eyes. Leta was standing next to his bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Better than ever… at last, I'm free."


End file.
